Social services
Research Topic
Language: English
This is a research topic created to provide authors with a place to attach new problem publications.
Research problems linked to this topic
- How effective are the key reforms set out in ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ in response to the Care Review that seek to improve the provision of children's social care across Local Authorities? These include recruitment of foster carers, support for kinship carers and provision of children's care placements.
- How can DWP support carers in their caring roles? Including any return to work or progression in the labour market?
- What will be the future level and mix of demand for different DWP services through different channels, (digital/online and video, phone, face-to-face)? Does effectiveness vary for different groups? How effective are digital/virtual services (for example labour market support, drug and alcohol interventions, parenting interventions) compared to face-to-face provision, in helping people move into work?
- How does a child’s journey through different systems of support, and the different qualities of the experiences along the way, serve to protect or expose them to involvement in serious youth violence?
- What are the most effective ways to engage employers, health professionals, employees and other relevant stakeholders to retain and support disabled people and people with health conditions in employment? What policies and processes do employers have in place that could influence employee health, well-being and productivity (such as sick pay, access to occupational health services, health insurance provision)?
- How do we improve parental access to, and engagement with, family services? How do we improve connections and relationships between parents and professionals (e.g. through parental networks)?
- What is the prevalence of different pedagogical approaches in different early years settings, including maintained nurseries and nursery provision in primary schools? How does this vary across the workforce? Which of these approaches have the greatest impact on development?
- What are the best ways to encourage engagement and awareness of the State Pension and Pensioner Benefits?
- How can we better quantify and measure the benefits of social work assessment, training and development in terms of child outcomes such as wellbeing and educational achievement?
- What is claimants’ experience of the welfare disputes process (Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals) and how does it affect them?
- How does receipt of benefit payments affect disabled people and people with long-term health conditions? What impact does it have on independence, financial security, employment, wellbeing?
- How could machine learning and predictive analytics be used robustly and ethically to create claimant personas/segments for disability benefits?
- How effective are the Family Hubs pilots in improving outcomes for young children and their families? What works best to engage families and deliver services?
- What are children’s end-to-end routes through the care system, and how does this impact on later life outcomes, such as educational achievement, wellbeing and labour market outcomes?
- What is known about drivers and barriers to parental engagement in their children’s education in the home? How can improvements in the home-learning environment mitigate the effect of disadvantage on pupils’ attainment?
- What are the characteristics of the specialist care workforce (e.g. social workers, children's homes, and early help providers)? What are the barriers to specialist staff recruitment and retention, and how can we overcome these?
- How effective has government’s cost of living support been?
- What is most effective in ensuring employment support operates in a joined-up way with other forms of support?