Evaluating Interventions to Reduce Homelessness Among Care Leavers (360G-cabinetoffice-G2-GA-202210824151-22-23)

This project will entail a series of evaluations of multiple projects conducted by local authorities around England to support young care leavers (aged between 16 and 18) into independent living as adults and avoiding homelessness and specifically rough sleeping. Although these interventionsdiffer - even within the twelve interventions that make up Staying Close - they share a commongoal: reducing homelessness among young people leaving care, and a common focus on socialsupport, some financial support for young people or carers, and preparation for independence.For each evaluation, we aim to answer two main research questions:What is the impact of intervention on homelessness among young care leaversWhat is the cost-per-unit-of-effect of interventionThese research questions will make use of three outcome measures, as well as cost data. Theseoutcome measures are:1) Number of spells of homelessness2) Number of days spent homeless3) An aggregated metric combining (1) and (2)Homelessness and the quality and appropriateness of accommodation have substantial knock-oneffects into other domains. As such, we also propose looking at a series of shared outcomes,specifically: educational attainment and progression, employment, and contacts with the criminaljustice system.The evaluation will also make use of cost and benefit data, based on both the green book and theframework for cost evaluations of interventions in childrens social care and homelessness, to assessthe absolute and relative value for money of each of the interventions to be evaluated. This will be based on both experiences of homelessness, and the extent to which homelessness or housinginstability increases service utilisation.