School uniform and other costs of schooling: views and experiences in Wales (technical report & final report)

"The overall aim of the research was... to explore the views of parents/carers and young people in Wales on the validity, usefulness and benefits of having school uniforms and their experiences and views on the cost and availability of buying uniforms, and to explore how the wider costs of schooling impacts on children, families and schools." - research aims & objectives

Victoria Legal Aid community research

Research conducted in June and July 2014 found strong community support for the services provided by Victoria Legal Aid. More than 1500 people were consulted as part of the research, with 92 per cent of respondents agreeing that it was important or very important for a government funded agency to help people who can’t afford legal services. The community consultation was undertaken to inform the development of Victoria Legal Aid’s strategic directions for the next three years and beyond, and was the first such research VLA have ever conducted. Respondents nominated people on a low income (79%), people experiencing or at risk of experiencing family violence (73%) and people with a disability (72%) as most deserving of legal aid. This is aligned with Victoria Legal Aid’s priority clients

Delivering the Jobcentre Plus vision : qualitative research with staff and customers (Phase 3)

Jobcentre Plus is a key part of the Government’s strategy for welfare reform. It brings together the services of the Employment Service (ES) and the Benefits Agency (BA) to provide a single point of delivery for jobs, benefits advice and support for people of working age. In October 2001, 56 Jobcentre Plus Pathfinder offices and associated contact centres were established in 17 clusters across the UK, offering a fully integrated work and benefits service. The aim of the Pathfinder offices was to lead the way in demonstrating the new service, culture and organisation of Jobcentre Plus. Representing the second stage of the national implementation of Jobcentre Plus’ ‘day two’ offices were planned to roll-out between April 2002 and March 2003 across twenty-four districts (some of which included Pathfinder offices). Further offices are planned to open over the next three years and the network will be complete by 2006. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) commissioned the Labour Market Research Partnership (led by ECOTEC Research & Consulting Ltd) and the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at Loughborough University to conduct a qualitative evaluation of Jobcentre Plus. The overall purpose of the research was to assess the extent to which Pathfinder and day two offices were delivering the Jobcentre Plus vision. This report presents the findings of qualitative research conducted with staff and customers in Jobcentre Plus offices. It builds on earlier research to show the progress achieved by Pathfinder offices over the last year and includes an assessment of delivery within the new, day two offices. First Contact

New Deal for Disabled People: second synthesis report - interim findings from the evaluation

The New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) is the major employment programme available to people claiming incapacity-related benefits, and is an important part of the Government’s welfare-to-work strategy. NDDP is a voluntary programme that provides a national network of Job Brokers to help people with health conditions and disabilities move into sustained employment. The evaluation design incorporates a longitudinal dimension, and this report presents selected findings from the evaluation. It covers developments up to and including spring 2004, and synthesises findings from fieldwork with NDDP participants, employers, members of the eligible population, those delivering the programme (notably staff from Job Brokers and Jobcentre Plus offices), and from administrative data. There are two recurrent themes running through this report: first, continuity and change in the programme, the institutions delivering NDDP and in respondents’ views and experiences; and secondly, identifying ‘what works’ in terms of securing job entries and sustainable employment. For findings covered in both synthesis reports, Chapter 2 maps the extent to which there has been continuity and change for selective aspects of NDDP. As might be expected there are some aspects of NDDP that are unchanged. However, there is also evidence of change and progression – for example, of improved relationships between Job Brokers and Jobcentre Plus locally

Understanding resources in later life: views and experiences of older people

This report explores how older people plan, use and value the resources available to them. Increasing life expectancy means that resources in later life have to be planned and managed over longer periods. Resources in this project include health, social contacts, community and neighbourhood resources, housing and transport, as well as money. The research explores access to these resources, their importance in older people’s lives, and how they interact. Different types of planning for retirement and the factors that infl uence plans and outcomes are described. People’s thoughts about, and plans for, the future are also explored. Finally, the implications of the fi ndings for government policy and for future research are refl ected on. A qualitative longitudinal approach was used, to interview a panel of 91 respondents aged 65 to 84 to investigate the consequences of changes in circumstances in later life. This report is based on the fi rst wave of interviews. It is of interest to policymakers, practitioners and academics involved in provision for people in later life

Measuring resources in later life: a review of the data

This report explores the needs of people in later life, including expenditure, health, social networks, services, housing and neighbourhood, as well as income. The Government is currently planning and initiating policies for a future in which increasing numbers of older people, living longer, will require more resources. This report uses existing data to examine the needs of people over 65. It investigates how patterns of resource use change over time, both for individual older people as they move through later life and for different generations of older people. The report will be of interest to policymakers, practitioners and academics involved in provision for people in later life

New deal for disabled people national extension: findings from the first wave of qualitative research with clients, job brokers and jobcentre plus staff

The New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) was introduced in 1998 and 1999 as a series of pilots designed to evaluate services based on the use of personal advisers to help disabled people move into or stay in paid employment. The pilots were wound up in 2001 and superseded by what is known as the ‘national extension’ of NDDP, the aim of which is to ‘support and test innovative ways of helping people on Incapacity Benefits move from economic inactivity into sustained employment’ (DSS, ES, DfEE research specification, April, 2001). Services under the national extension are provided by a network of around 60 ‘Job Broker’ organisations including voluntary and other not-for-profit bodies, commercial companies, government agencies and other public sector organisations. This report presents findings from a first wave of qualitative research carried out in 2002 which forms part of a larger programme of work aimed at providing the Department for Work and Pensions with a comprehensive evaluation of the NDDP extension. The overall aim of the qualitative research is to explore the organisation, operation and impacts of the Job Broker service from the perspective of all key stakeholders, including users and providers of Job Broker services, and staff of Jobcentre Plus offices. Specifically, the research was designed to produce data on the following: • factors affecting participation in the Job Broker programme • clients’ understanding and experiences of NDDP • the role and operation of Job Brokers • the role and operation of the Jobcentre Plus staff who can provide people with information about Job Broker services. A research design was adopted that aimed to gather data using a range of qualitative research techniques from key actors associated with 18 Job Broker services operating in 15 specific geographical areas. The first wave of data collection was carried out in the Summer/Autumn of 2002; a second wave is planned for 2003. The report is organised into three main parts. Part I (Chapters 2 to 5) presents findings from the Job Broker and Jobcentre Plus staff research. In Part II (Chapters 6 to 9), the client perspective is presented. Part III (Chapter 10) provides an overall summary of the emerging issues

Adaptation and validation of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-R2 for a national study of child maltreatment in Australia

Background: To establish national prevalence of child maltreatment, reliable, valid and contextually appropriate measurement is needed. This paper outlines the refinement, adaptation and testing of child maltreatment sections of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ)-R2 for use in the Australian context. Methods: Three phases were undertaken: 1) Conceptual analysis of the five forms of child maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, neglect, and experience of domestic violence), item mapping and review, item development, and independent expert review; 2) Cognitive testing with members of the general population, and individuals who have experienced maltreatment; and 3) Pilot testing and quantitative psychometric assessment with a random sample of Australians aged 16–65+ years. Results: The final measure included a total of 17 child maltreatment screener items, assessing Physical Abuse (2 items), Sexual abuse (5 items (including 2 non-contact items and 3 contact items), Emotional Abuse (3 items), Neglect (3 items), and Experience of Domestic Violence (4 items). Screener items were also included on corporal punishment (1 item), and internet sexual victimization (2 items). The final 17-item revised JVQ had high face and conceptual validity and good internal reliability (α = 0.86 and Ω = 0.87). Test re-test reliability was moderate to high for individual screeners ranging from k = 0.45 to 0.89. Conclusions: Results indicate the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-R2: Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study) is a suitable instrument for assessing population-wide prevalence of maltreatment. It is congruent with conceptual models of maltreatment and shows good reliability and validity in this Australian sample.</p