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Background  Early intervention services adopting a family‐centred approach are considered important for ensuring parent satisfaction. This study investigated the satisfaction of two mothers with an early intervention programme for young children with autistic spectrum disorder.Materials and Methods  While 16 mother–child dyads participated in a larger study, two mothers who reported considerably lower satisfaction with the programme than the rest of the mothers were the focus of this paper. Using descriptive case studies, various child, parent and service delivery factors that may have influenced satisfaction are described.Results  Child and parent factors that may have lessened satisfaction for these two mothers included the child's lack of improvement, child's goal performance post‐intervention, parenting stress and decreased parenting competence. Both mothers also had decreased perceptions of the family‐centredness of the service and expressed difficulties with establishing collaborative partnerships.Conclusion  This paper proposes that parental satisfaction may be influenced by numerous factors relating to the child, parent and service. Relationships with service providers appear to be particularly important.

Abstract Background Evidence based parenting programmes can improve parenting skills and the behaviour of children exhibiting, or at risk of developing, antisocial behaviour. In order to develop a public policy for delivering these programmes it is necessary not only to demonstrate their efficacy through rigorous trials but also to determine that they can be rolled out on a large scale. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the UK government funded national implementation of its Parenting Early Intervention Programme, a national roll-out of parenting programmes for parents of children 8–13 years in all 152 local authorities (LAs) across England. Building upon our study of the Pathfinder (2006–08) implemented in 18 LAs. To the best of our knowledge this is the first comparative study of a national roll-out of parenting programmes and the first study of parents of children 8–13 years. Methods The UK government funded English LAs to implement one or more of five evidence based programmes (later increased to eight): Triple P, Incredible Years, Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities, Families and Schools Together (FAST), and the Strengthening Families Programme (10–14). Parents completed measures of parenting style (laxness and over-reactivity), and mental well-being, and also child behaviour at three time points: pre- and post-course and again one year later. Results 6143 parents from 43 LAs were included in the study of whom 3325 provided post-test data and 1035 parents provided data at one-year follow up. There were significant improvements for each programme, with effect sizes (Cohen's d ) for the combined sample of 0.72 parenting laxness, 0.85 parenting over-reactivity, 0.79 parent mental well-being, and 0.45 for child conduct problems. These improvements were largely maintained one year later. All four programmes for which we had sufficient data for comparison were effective. There were generally larger effects on both parent and child measures for Triple P, but not all between programme comparisons were significant. Results for the targeted group of parents of children 8–13 years were very similar. Conclusions Evidence-based parenting programmes can be rolled out effectively in community settings on a national scale. This study also demonstrates the impact of research on shaping government policy.

Background: Evidence based parenting programmes can improve parenting skills and the behaviour of children exhibiting, or at risk of developing, antisocial behaviour. In order to develop a public policy for delivering these programmes it is necessary not only to demonstrate their efficacy through rigorous trials but also to determine that they can be rolled out on a large scale. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the UK government funded national implementation of its Parenting Early Intervention Programme, a national roll-out of parenting programmes for parents of children 8–13 years in all 152 local authorities (LAs) across England. Building upon our study of the Pathfinder (2006–08) implemented in 18 LAs. To the best of our knowledge this is the first comparative study of a national roll-out of parenting programmes and the first study of parents of children 8–13 years. Methods: The UK government funded English LAs to implement one or more of five evidence based programmes (later increased to eight): Triple P, Incredible Years, Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities, Families and Schools Together (FAST), and the Strengthening Families Programme (10–14). Parents completed measures of parenting style (laxness and over-reactivity), and mental well-being, and also child behaviour at three time points: pre- and post-course and again one year later. Results: 6143 parents from 43 LAs were included in the study of whom 3325 provided post-test data and 1035 parents provided data at one-year follow up. There were significant improvements for each programme, with effect sizes (Cohen's d) for the combined sample of 0.72 parenting laxness, 0.85 parenting over-reactivity, 0.79 parent mental well-being, and 0.45 for child conduct problems. These improvements were largely maintained one year later. All four programmes for which we had sufficient data for comparison were effective. There were generally larger effects on both parent and child measures for Triple P, but not all between programme comparisons ...

Evaluation of a group parenting programme in the Northern Territory of Australia showed significant differences in benefits for Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal boys and girls. The analysis considers whether boys and girls from different cultural backgrounds present with different problems; whether parental expectations for boys and girls differ and whether the intervention activates different responses in different settings. Conclusions suggest that there is a need to closely examine the 'cultural logic' of interventions, the appropriateness of their assumptions about child development and hypothesised mechanisms of change in different settings.

Aim: Early intervention programmes are expected to result in the reduction of illness severity in patients with schizophrenia, and contain healthcare costs by reducing hospital admissions and improving the social functioning of patients. This study aimed to investigate the costeffectiveness of treatment in an early intervention programme in comparison to standard care. Methods: Retrospective analysis of data prospectively recorded in an urban area (Milan, Italy). Twentythree patients from an early intervention programme and 23 patients from standard care with first-episode psychosis were evaluated on their use of services over a 5-year period. The Health of the Nation Outcome Scale was used to measure clinical status. Results: Significant changes with respect to initial assessment were recorded on the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale,with larger effect sizes in the early intervention programme than in the standard care group. Consequently, the cost-effectiveness ratio per reduced score of severity was lower in the early intervention programme than in standard care (€ 4802 vs. € 9871), with an incremental costeffectiveness ratio, or net saving of € -1204 for every incremental reduced score of severity. Over time, greater recourse to hospital and residential facilities to obtain comparable improvement in symptoms resulted in a steady cost increase for the patients in standard care. Conclusions: Allocation of funds to specialized early intervention programmes is the best alternative, as it can save costs by reducing the use of hospitals and residential facilities, and may produce net savings of costs in the long term.

The child's voice is often excluded in child and family service programme evaluations, with research traditionally favouring the views of parents, carers and other adults. Evaluations that do not provide adequate opportunities for children and young people (CYP) to be involved potentially risk misunderstanding wider programme impacts and minimising CYP-specific outcomes. CareSouth has piloted an evaluation utilising body-mapping to collect programme feedback from CYP to provide valuable insights into perceived outcomes in areas of social connection, cognitive skills and development of positive personal identity. This article will share insights and lessons CareSouth encountered during the evaluation, the methods used to ensure ethical evaluation and the lessons for other child and family service practitioners looking to extend meaningful consultation with CYP to ensure greater understanding of holistic programme impacts.

Research addressing the delivery of early intervention programmes offers guidelines that, when followed, presumably maximize the programmes' intended benefits. In this study, the authors used a quasi-mixed, monostrand method to investigate how families of children with disabilities in south-east Turkey perceived the service delivery they were receiving. Organizing their perceptions under a framework related to the Turkish-law-mandated guidelines, the authors found that the provision of services in the region varied greatly from one professional team task to the next. Implications for the improvement of service delivery are discussed.

In this paper we explain some of the difficulties of providing forecasts of the financial benefits of early intervention programmes, focussing on those delivered during the early childhood period. We highlight the diversity of early intervention, and the complexity and multiplicity of outcomes. We summarise recent work at the Early Intervention Foundation to assess the evidence on the impacts of early intervention, recognising the diversity of approaches to delivery and the importance of innovation and local practice as well as of rigorous approaches to evaluating causal effects. We also describe new ways of assessing accurately the local fiscal costs of late intervention and consider the implications of this for addressing the well-established barriers to investment in prevention. Our analysis brings to the fore gaps in the evidence from which even the most rigorous 'gold-standard' research is not immune. These limitations prevent the production of an accurate and realistic cost-benefit ratio or net present value for the majority of programmes as delivered in practice. We suggest some paths towards a firmer foundation of evidence and a better alignment of evidence and policy.

Abstract
As communities and law enforcement officers across the globe grapple with the ever-increasing spread of cyber-crime combined with child sexual exploitation a myriad of strategies are emerging to combat the escalating crimes. This paper presents the development, implementation, and results of an educational intervention strategy applied by Lancashire Police. The strategy underpinned by comprehensive research of existing factors in the Lancashire community and determining an intervention to target the potential victim demographic culminated in a school-based education programme. The results of the pilot programme revealed positive early trends in self-assessed increased knowledge of potential risks, potential positive improvements in reducing the vulnerability of children, increase in avoidance mechanisms, and increasing personal safety. For the wider policing and general community, the intervention model is replicable and offers an additional tool to build the immunity of the most vulnerable victims, children in the global fight against arguably one of the most inhumane criminal activities.

Over the last several years there has been an increasing focus on early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), not only from the scientific field but also from professional associations and public health systems all across Europe. Not surprisingly, in order to offer better services and quality of life for both children with ASD and their families, different screening procedures and tools have been developed for early assessment and intervention. However, current evidence is needed for healthcare providers and policy makers to be able to implement specific measures and increase autism awareness in European communities. The general aim of this review is to address the latest and most relevant issues related to early detection and treatments. The specific objectives are (1) analyse the impact, describing advantages and drawbacks, of screening procedures based on standardized tests, surveillance programmes, or other observational measures; and (2) provide a European framework of early intervention programmes and practices and what has been learnt from implementing them in public or private settings. This analysis is then discussed and best practices are suggested to help professionals, health systems and policy makers to improve their local procedures or to develop new proposals for early detection and intervention programmes. ; The authors were supported by a research grant awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grant PSI2016-80575-R) and European Union. DGSANCO. Ref.: SANCO/2014/C2/035. ; Sí