Reflections on running a large randomised controlled trial in children's social care

Sarah Taylor, Emily Blackshaw and Hannah Lawrence

Chapter 4 in Experimental Methods and Children's Social Care, 2025, pp 43-54 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter explores a randomised controlled trial (RCT) conducted between 2019 and 2022 to evaluate the effectiveness of introducing Family Group Conferences (FGCs) at the pre-proceedings stage in child protection cases across 21 local authorities in England. Involving 1511 families and 2605 children, the study aimed to address the lack of robust evidence on FGC outcomes. The chapter discusses the challenges of implementing RCTs in social care, ethical considerations, and debates surrounding the use of RCTs to evaluate interventions like FGCs. Findings indicated that children in families offered FGCs were less likely to become looked after 12 months after the pre-proceedings letter compared to those receiving usual care. The chapter concludes by affirming the feasibility and value of RCTs in children's social care research and emphasises the importance of evidence-based approaches to inform policy and practice in child protection.

Keywords: Family Group Conferences; Pre-proceedings; Child protection; Randomised controlled trial; Administrative data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035327140
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