Effectiveness of Services for Sexually Abused Children and Young People .Report 1: A Knowledge Review

By Di McNeish, Liz Kelly and Sara Scott

This report sets out the findings from a knowledge review commissioned by the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (the CSA Centre), as part of a suite of work to expand the evidence base on how best to assess the effectiveness of services responding to child sexual abuse (CSA). The review was undertaken by DMSS Research in partnership with the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University, between July and December 2018. It involved four phases: ‣ a rapid review of the literature, to highlight what published evidence does and does not tell us about service provision, and to establish what evaluations had already been conducted in this field ‣ ‘key informant’ interviews with 13 individuals identified for their practice and research experience and expertise ‣ three focus groups bringing together practitioners, policymakers and commissioners ‣ site visits to 12 CSA services across England and Wales, which incorporated interviews with managers and staff (either individually or in groups) and with 12 young people who had used the services. Drawing on this work, the report outlines the current landscape of service provision, identifies core elements of effective practice in the field, and outlines the implications for the feasibility of multi-service evaluation

Ilford, UK: Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, 2019. 40p.