Awarded_Independent Review of Children's Social Care

Contract Awarded: The Independent Review of Children's Social Care began on 1 March 2021. The review is asking how we ensure children grow up in loving, stable and safe families and where that is not possible care provides the same foundations. Underpinning this, the review will need to understand how money should be best spent to deliver improved outcomes for children and families. It is therefore essential that we understand the immediate and lifelong cost to individuals, the state and society of adverse outcomes of children who interact with the care system and how money is currently being spent. The review has committed to being evidence-based, using the most appropriate research and evidence, and will commission and carry out new analysis where appropriate. Where recommendations require spending they will be fully costed, with (as far as possible) the impact and benefits understood and expressed in costed terms. This work will be broken down into two elements of work: - Calculating the cost of the current system - including understanding the costs of adverse outcomes and the structure of current spending on children in and around the care system. To be completed by September 2021. - Estimating and modelling the cost-effectiveness and value for money of the review's recommendations - to be completed by January 2022