The prospects of children and young people in Birmingham UK may be brighter now that a $82.5 million investment in a portfolio of early years and prevention services and projects has been agreed by Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet.

The newly funded initiative will begin in September with the introduction of one of a series of UK trials of Family Nurse Partnerships, (the transatlantic variant of the Nurse-Family Partnership), and with restorative justice pilots in three Birmingham children’s homes.

Councillor Les Lawrence, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: “We have the youngest population in Europe; this means we need to provide a range of services that meet the needs of twenty-first century children and their families.

“By investing $82.5 million up front to provide a portfolio of preventative programs we can improve outcomes for children, young people and families. The program is based on major research done with Birmingham school pupils and the carers of preschool children to ensure what we offer is what residents of Birmingham need.”

Cheryl Hopkins, Birmingham City Council’s Children, Young People and Families service director for strategy and commissioning added, “With the support of Dartington-i, a national research organization, we have evidence from this country and around the world on what works to improve the lives of children and young people .

“We’ll now be able to channel our energies into early years and preventative services, as the evidence shows that support given to young children is effective in delivering positive outcomes as they move through school and into young adulthood.

“We’ll focus on improving outcomes for children and young people that include improved health, behavior, emotional well being and greater literacy and numeracy skills.

“We’ve applied rigorous research into the chosen portfolio of programs which will only be fully implemented following extensive staff training. We’ll apply the same stringent rules towards the evaluation of all programs.”

Birmingham’s relationship with Dartington-i in developing the Brighter Futures strategy began several years ago, when the then Director of Education, now Director of Children’s Services, Tony Howell, was introduced to an approach to outcomes-base strategic planning being developed for parallel Dartington-i work across the island of Ireland.

Subsequently commissioning a local epidemiological study as a scientific basis for service planning was a considerable departure for an English local authority.

The resulting Brighter Futures program proposals were also given credibility at budgetary level by drawing on US cost benefit analysis and bringing its originator, Steve Aos, to the UK from Washington State to explain the thinking to local staff. The capacity to estimate the savings associated with prevention programs is another relative novelty in the UK childcare system.

Dartington-i’s research director Michael Little said today: “Our role has been to provide a way of thinking that demands evidence and logic. Birmingham has made the most of these resources by seeking the very best for the city's children. The council’s investment is a clear indication that Birmingham means what it says about improving outcomes for its children.

“The way the agencies have worked together, carefully analyzed data on the well-being of children and considered evidence about what works from around the world has been exemplary.

“These new investments put Birmingham at the cutting edge of children's services in Europe.”

For more about the various aspects of the Birmingham strategy see, for example: The future’s bright, the future’s Birmingham , Fidelity – prevention byword (or new F-word) and Washington state helps England’s second city get real

• The preparation of Brighter Futures and the rigorous implementation and evaluation of its component parts are underpinned by Common Language, a methodology developed in the UK by Dartington Social Research Unit, the partner organization of Dartington-i. The Research Unit is also the publisher of Prevention Action.