The framework for successful impact measurement
Clearly defined objectives, activities that align with them, and monitoring during implementation in collaboration with a broad representation of stakeholders. This is the success formula that enables you to map the effects of prevention. Moreover, this impact-oriented way of working ensures more effective use of resources and greater control over achieving your stated objectives. Using this formula, Sinzer–Grant Thornton also supported the municipality of Leeuwarden from 2018 to 2021 in the impact-oriented implementation of an intervention around preventive youth care. With success!
How does impact-oriented working work?
With impact-oriented working, we focus on social outcomes. The use and monitoring of data are essential here. At the municipality of Leeuwarden and with education and care partners, we did this using a combination of qualitative, quantitative and financial data, giving them control over preventive youth care.
The objective of preventive youth care in the municipality of Leeuwarden
Since 2018, the municipality of Leeuwarden has been deploying youth support workers at Integrated Child Centres (ICC) (education and childcare locations). In this way, they give all children the opportunity to develop optimally in their own way. Does a child need support to do so? Then the youth support worker ensures that help or care is available as early as possible and as close to the child as possible.
A clear approach leads to clear effects
For three years, we monitored the pilot involving the placement of youth support workers at integrated child centres and applied various effect measurements. In this way, we demonstrated that the use of youth care has become more effective. This was evident from the following results:
- Faster access to the right support for children and families who need help.
- The issues underlying children’s behaviour are better understood.
- The use of specialist youth mental healthcare has decreased.
- There has been an increase in low-threshold and system-oriented support.
- Collaboration between education, care providers and the municipality has improved. This contributes to more effective care pathways.
Baseline measurement as the basis for customisation
Our impact advisers carried out a baseline measurement to identify focus points for each ICC. This baseline measurement consisted of:
- a profile of the neighbourhood of the ICC;
- an inventory of child and family issues and care use at child level by teachers and internal support coordinators;
- mapping the care structure and culture within the ICC; and
- an overview of allocations under the Youth Act at ICC level.
This formed the basis for the customisation of the youth support workers’ work.
Monitoring provides control over results
In an interim and follow-up measurement, we reflected on developments around the focus points and on the way in which changes had been realised.
At the beginning of 2020, we carried out the first follow-up measurement. The youth support workers had been working for a year. During this follow-up measurement, we again inventoried the issues and care use and held discussions with the youth support workers about their experiences. This gave us insight into progress in relation to the focus points. On this basis, we made additional recommendations.
During a final measurement, halfway through 2021, we conducted a third inventory of issues and care use. We asked internal and external cooperation partners of the youth support workers about their experiences with the approach. In addition, we analysed allocations under the Youth Act between October 2018 and June 2021. We described in detail the cases in which a youth support worker was involved and monetised them in a cost–benefit analysis. Per case, we determined what additional efforts within and outside the ICC took place due to the involvement of the youth support worker and what expected escalation of problems and additional care use had been prevented as a result. In this way, we gained more insight into the potential savings generated by the deployment of the youth support worker. On average, this led to a saving of EUR 14,590 per case for the municipality of Leeuwarden.
With this final measurement, we made the first effects of deploying youth support workers for children, parents, education and care organisations and the municipality transparent. In addition, the final measurement resulted in recommendations for the coming years at the current and new locations where the municipality works with youth support workers.
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