This report presents the findings of an evaluation of six specialist services for child victims and witnesses of family violence. The primary objective of the evaluation was to describe the programmes and assess their effectiveness in meeting the needs of child victims and witnesses of family violence. An additional objective was the identification of key features of successful programmes and what constitutes best practice. Information was obtained by interviews with parents and children who participated in the programmes, as well as analysis of children's needs assessments on entry, exit and three months after the programme. Additional information was gained from the six programmes themselves, and five key agencies involved with each programme. Although long term outcomes could not be assessed, findings show that according to the majority of the parents and children, pre-existing needs were met during the programme and this remained at the three month follow-up. However, not all children's needs were met, and the authors suggest that these children may benefit more from individual counselling or continuing family support. The authors conclude that a variety of programmes that meet individual needs, and further research on what is likely to be most effective is necessary. A condensed paper based on this report is also available as part of the Occasional papers in criminology series, Institute of Criminology, Victoria University of Wellington, under the title 'Do children's programmes work?'

nz