Original Article © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 101 Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKCCHDChild: Care, Health and Development0305-1862© 2005 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2005 Blackwell Pub- lishing Ltd? 2005321101110Original ArticleServices and costs for families under stressM. Sleed et al. Correspondence: Professor Martin Knapp, PSSRU, LSE Health and Social Care, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK E-mail: m.knapp@LSE.ac.uk Original Article Assessing services, supports and costs for young families under stress M. Sleed,*¶ J. Beecham,*† M. Knapp,†‡ C. McAuley§ and N. McCurry§ *Personal Social Services Research Unit, University of Kent, Kent †Centre for the Economics of Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, London ‡Personal Social Services Research Unit, London School of Economics, London §School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast and ¶Anna Freud Centre, London, UK Accepted for publication 20 October 2005 Abstract Background Despite the attention paid to family support services in legislation and guidance, there is still relatively little evidence on which to base the development of effective services, and even less on the costs and cost-effectiveness of different models of support. Methods The study designed and examined the practical feasibility of a methodology for collecting service use data and other information on families. Unit costs of services were calculated and data were collected in interviews with 177 young families under stress in Northern Ireland and South-East England. Service use patterns and costs were analysed. Results Comparisons showed that families made greater use than the general population of many services. There were marked variations within the sample in the patterns of service use and costs, to some extent reflecting differences in the needs of the young families. Discussion The methods developed for collecting service use data, calculating unit costs and estimating costs for families were feasible. Keywords family, service use, costs, children Introduction Family support continues to be a key focus of social services policy in the UK. For example, the 2004 Green Paper, Every Child Matters: Change for Chil- dren, proposes a new approach to the welfare of children and young people in England, including the provision of better information and support to parents and carers. In Northern Ireland, a strategic framework is expected to be issued for consultation in autumn 2005 to further develop services for children and families. The fundamental aim is to meet the needs of children, young people and their families, but policy makers, service commissioners and providers are working within often quite con- siderable resource constraints. A secondary set of policy aims is therefore couched in terms of value for money, efficiency and equity. Unfortunately, there is little robust evidence on these economic matters to guide national or local decision makers (Sloper & Statham 2004). We aimed to develop methods for estimating the costs of supporting families, in the context of a wider evaluation of a service intervention for young families under stress (McAuley et al. 2004). This paper will firstly describe the design and prac- tical feasibility of a method for estimating the costs of supporting families, and secondly will present the estimated costs of a sample of 177 families in England and Northern Ireland.