The Cost-Effectiveness of UK Parenting Programmes for Preventing Children’s Behaviour Problems – A Review of the Evidence

In March 2012, the UK government announced a pilot of free parenting classes to parents of all children under five, on the same day as an independent panel reported that poor parenting was widely blamed for the UK riots of August 2011. The presence of serious behaviour problems in childhood, affecting nearly five per cent of UK children is strongly associated with later delinquency and criminality, and several recent UK policy documents have emphasised the economic advantages of preventative early intervention (Field 2010; Allen 2011; Munro 2011).

Parenting programmes designed to help parents respond to difficult behaviour and strengthen family relationships are promoted in Graham Allen’s review of early intervention and have been widely implemented in the UK. Substantial long-term savings have been predicted; however, children’s social care services have pointed out the difficulties of demonstrating cost effectiveness over the short term and have experienced budget cuts, particularly to preventative services.