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This article reports a study of evaluation strategies and tools currently used within UK child bereavement services. Data were sought from a representative sample of services across the UK on the evaluations' users, the data requested, and organisations' existing evaluation strategies. The study found that child bereavement services were struggling with a considerable burden of demand for information from a range of users - chiefly funders and commissioners of services. However, a mapping exercise revealed that a considerable amount of the data required by evaluation users was the same, and that it was being obtained from evaluations that services overall were already undertaking. The most common forms of evaluation were post-intervention user satisfaction surveys of core interventions, using self-completion questionnaires. However, collection of basic data was limited and patchy, and evaluations of outcomes and organisational processes and reporting on the findings were less common. Based on these findings, the researchers propose the development of a set of common evaluation tools that could be used across all child bereavement services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes how the Childhood Bereavement Network (CBN) is developing an outcome tool that can be used across the services working with bereaved children and young people in Great Britain. The CBN is due to collaborate with groups interested in bereavement service to explore the changes they make for grieving children and young people. Besides, it will synthesize their views on the objectives of the services and be talking to the children and young people, along with their parents.

The article focuses on the Childhood Bereavement Network (CBN), a national and multi-professional network of organizations and individuals working in the field of childhood bereavement in Great Britain. CBN promotes the interests of bereaved children and their families, at the same time encourages the development of quality support for them. It includes services such as a directory of support organisations and a point of contract for people who try to set up a childhood bereavement service.