New online resource aims to transform mental health support for children in care

Shaping Futures Together is a new online training resource to help improve mental health support for children in care.

Although care-experienced young people often have significant mental health needs, research shows they often struggle with access to mental health services and are not offered best-evidenced interventions.

The new resource, led by the UK Trauma Council, aims to empower commissioners, decision-makers and leaders across mental health and children’s social care. It gives them the tools to advocate for and build evidence-informed mental health provision for care-experienced young people.

The free 3-module training is available through the UK Trauma Council website. It has been developed in collaboration with care-experienced young people and over 100 cross-sector commissioners and decision-makers.

The training builds on the ADaPT project, supported by four NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs), including ARC West. ADaPT focused on understanding strategies to improve access to best-evidenced trauma-focused mental health interventions for care-experienced young people.

The new resource:

• Provides accessible information on what is meant by ‘evidence-based practice’
• Encourages development of shared evidence-driven language around trauma and mental health
• Supports collaborative evaluation and improvement of mental health services

The modules include videos and downloadable handouts.

Rachel Hiller, Professor of Child & Adolescent Mental Health at University College London, who leads the project, said:

“We know that care-experienced young people have much higher rates of mental health difficulties than other young people. We have best-evidenced treatments for these mental health needs that are often not provided to this group.

“ADaPT showed that one of the barriers to access to best-evidenced mental health interventions was how we commission services and confusion between sectors around needs and treatment.

“We hope these resources can be used by commissioners, decision-makers, and leadership – across children’s social care and mental health services – to encourage collaborative and joined-up working that is driven by best-evidenced practice. Care-experienced young people deserve this.”

ADaPT and the resources were supported by NIHR ARCs West, North Thames, South West Peninsula and North East North Cumbria.