Today's child welfare services operate under a limited supply of resources. This book explains how finite resources can be used most effectively, providing social work managers and policymakers with a comprehensive costing model to assess the links between needs, costs and outcomes across the full range of child welfare services.

Lisa Holmes is Assistant Director of the Centre for Child and Family Research at Loughborough University, UK. She currently leads a programme of research to explore the cost of child welfare. With her colleagues, Jean Soper and Harriet Ward she led the development of the Cost Calculator for Children's Services. Samantha McDermid is a Research Associate at the Centre for Child and Family Research, where she has worked on the Costs and Outcomes programme of research for the past four years.

Preface. 1. Introduction 2. The Conceptual Framework. 3. The Calculation of Unit Costs. 4. Additional Services. 5. Understanding Children's Needs and Outcomes. 6. Making Use of Cost Calculations: Building and Supporting an Evidence Base. 7. Conclusion: Implications for Policy and Practice. References. Index.