Managing Children's Homes : Developing Effective Leadership in Small Organisation

Managing Children's Homes' focuses on leadership, the role of managers, how resources are used in children's homes, and how this impacts on outcomes for children in care. The authors document the variation in success across different children's homes achieve and assess the influence of leadership and management style, the environment in which they work, the impact of staff support, and role of a clear management philosophy. They explore the qualities and strategies that make effective home managers and how success relates to the provision of resources. Based on innovative, DfES-funded, interdisciplinary research, this book will be essential reading for staff, managers and working in children's care homes and directors of social services responsible for allocating resources. It will also be of interest to students, policy-makers and researchers of social policy and social work. Resources for social care for children are scarce, and it is essential that they are used efficiently and to best effect. This important series draws on an extensive government-funded initiative into the costs and effects of services for children in difficulty. Titles in the series are essential reading for practitioners, policy makers and academics working in social care for children.

Sarah Byford is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and specialises in the economic evaluation of mental health and social care services.

Ian Gibbs is a research consultant at the SWRDU at the University of York. His main area of research is looked after children, particularly those in residential care and foster care.

Leslie Hicks is Reader in the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Lincoln, UK. She specializes in research in the fields of services for children and adults, child protection and well-being and social exclusion.

Helen Weatherly is a Research Fellow at Centre for Health Economics, University of York. The focus of her research is on the economic evaluation of health and social care interventions.