Increasingly, services working with bereaved children and young people need to demonstrate the difference their interventions make. As well as improving their accountability to funders and commissioners, this helps them to show children and their families the sort of change that might happen as a result of taking part in the service, so that they can make an informed decision to participate. Strong evidence from evaluations also helps practitioners to know that the work they are doing is of value, and strengthens the service in the eyes of those making referrals to it.
While there are a growing number of outcome measures in use and development across children's mental health, adult mental health and palliative care services, there is growing concern that the Childhood Bereavement Network (CBN) lacks appropriate tools to measure the changes that children and their families actually want bereavement services to make in their lives. Dr Liz Rolls' work at the University of Gloucestershire reveals support in the field for developing an outcome tool that could be used across all services and types of intervention.
Consultation with children
CBN has been funded by the Department of Health for the first stage of a project to develop such a tool. CBN, hosted by the National Children's Bureau, is the national hub for those working with bereaved children and underpins its members' work with essential support and representation.
CBN will work with key groups who have an interest in childhood bereavement services to explore the changes they want interventions to bring about. Obviously, CBN will be talking to bereaved children and young people themselves, along with their parents and carers. CBN will also consult practitioners and service managers. A group of key funders of childhood bereavement services have agreed to share their views on what outcomes they are looking for when they fund services, and CBN will also be talking to those who make referrals to services.
CBN will then synthesize their views on what childhood bereavement services are trying to achieve, and develop an appropriate tool to measure the changes that they make.
Alison Penny, co-ordinator, Childhood Bereavement Network
THE CHILDHOOD BEREAVEMENT NETWORK
CBN has over 250 members across the UK, bringing them together across localities, disciplines and sectors to improve bereavement care for children. CBN wants support to be available to all bereaved children and young people, wherever they live and however they have been bereaved. This includes:
- Information about how children grieve, what can help and what services are available
- An easy to access consultative process to agree who and what could help a particular family
- Support for parents and carers
- One-to-one support and peer groups for children and young people
- Outreach and specialist support for those who are vulnerable or traumatised
