Prevention and Early Intervention in Ireland and Northern Ireland: Making a Real Difference in the Lives of Children and Young People

An evaluation from Mathematica Policy Research, summarized in this report, found that Atlantic Philanthropies’ investments of $164 million for its early intervention and prevention initiative have helped to positively transform the approach to serving all children in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Atlantic’s investments from 2004 to 2013 aimed to make programs available across the island of Ireland that were shown to be effective at providing the support children and young people need to be healthy, do well in school and to help ensure that they have bright futures.

Based on findings from Atlantic-commissioned evaluations in 2008 and 2011, Mathematica concluded that the initiative “demonstrated the real difference that a comprehensive approach to prevention and early intervention services can make in the lives of children.”

The evaluations also showed that over the course of the initiative, Atlantic and its grantees were able to:

• Confirm that a prevention and early intervention approach can be effective
• Gain insights into what works to improve the lives of children and young adults
• Establish an infrastructure that provides high-quality research that informs policy decisions and program choices
• Show that government and nongovernmental organizations can work together to change outcomes for children and young people

Learn More

• Read a summary of the 2011 evaluation’s key findings (PDF)
• Read the evaluation