Children & Youth Prevention & Early Intervention
An Early Start Toward a Lifetime of Opportunities
Northern Ireland | Republic of Ireland | 2004 - 2014
Atlantic’s desire to help young people grow and flourish led to one of the foundation’s signature initiatives in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland focused on prevention and early intervention. Over 10 years, Atlantic invested more than $200 million to make programs available 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. Through some 39 interventions and 52 evidence-based services that Atlantic supported, grantees reached an estimated 90,000 children and young people, 23,000 parents and caregivers, and 4,000 professionals.
What We Learned From This Work
Supporting parents pays real dividends in terms of better outcomes for children.
Evidence can be a powerful engine for advancing change when practitioners are given robust tools or support to apply it in their work.
Building partnerships with government, NGOs and communities from the start can lead to better and more sustainable outcomes.
From Developing Evidence of What Works to Informing Policy and Practice
Here's some examples of how grantees delivered benefits to young people while demonstrating the value of early intervention & prevention.
Improved Outcomes for Children
Archway’s Families First programme proved successful in delivering a cost-effective way of supporting young people at risk of becoming entangled in the juvenile justice system.
Fostering Information Sharing
Atlantic supported the formation of the Centre for Effective Services to help support policy makers and organisations with effective implementation of children’s services.
Securing Government Buy-In
Early Intervention Transformation Programme is embedding early intervention across Northern Ireland.
Here’s Who’s Helping Write the Next Chapter in This Continuing Story
Find out more about who’s on the forefront of this work.
Latest Research and Best Practices
Visit the Centre for Effective Services to access the latest prevention & early intervention research and best practices.
Stories Worth Telling
Summaries of Case Studies, Evaluations & Reports
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The Centre for Effective Services’ Library
[caption id="attachment_79690" align="alignright" width="300"] The Centre for Effective Services’ online library offers a variety of resources. Learn more >[/caption] The Centre for Effective Services' (CES) online library makes available a great quantity of relevant, usable evidence for policy makers, service commissioners, providers and practitioners. CES has served…
Resource type: Research Report
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Capacity Building in the Children and Young People’s Sector in Ireland: A Field-Level Study
Source: Mary Rafferty and Anne Colgan
This case study focuses on Atlantic’s role in helping build the capacity of the children and young people’s sector in the Republic of Ireland between 2004 and 2014. The report found: Building capacity at the field level requires a strategic and systemic approach, which includes…
Resource type: Case Study
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Government Partnerships & Engagement
This book offers three case studies on how Atlantic advanced opportunity, dignity and equity for people around the world by engaging and partnering with government.
Resource type: Insight
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Preparing For Life: Early Childhood Intervention
Source: Preparing for Life Evaluation Team, Geary Institute for Public Policy at University College Dublin
Findings in this 48-month evaluation show that Preparing for Life, a prevention and early intervention program which aims to improve the life outcomes of children and families living in North Dublin, Ireland, has had dramatic impacts on children’s IQ, obesity levels and social behavior, as well as…
Resource type: Evaluation
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Prevention and Early Intervention in Ireland and Northern Ireland: Making a Real Difference in the Lives of Children and Young People
Source: The Atlantic Philanthropies
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…
Resource type: Research Report
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Ten Years of Learning
Source: Centre for Effective Services
For more than a decade, the Atlantic Philanthropies, sometimes in conjunction with Government and other organisations, has invested over €127 million/£105 million in 30 partner agencies and community groups running 52 prevention and early intervention services and programmes across the island of Ireland. This document…
Resource type: Research Report
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Triple P: Positive Parenting Program
Source: The Atlantic Philanthropies
A free program in Ireland designed to promote more effective parenting is showing consistently positive changes for parents and children alike, according to findings from an independent evaluation. Triple P—the Positive Parenting Program—offers different levels of help depending on parents’ needs. Assistance ranges from tips…
Resource type: Research Report
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The Incredible Years Ireland Study
Source: National University of Ireland Maynooth
Early childhood behavioural difficulties are increasingly prevalent and raise the risk of poorer outcomes later in life. Teachers and parents are ideally suited to address these issues but they often feel ill-equipped to do so without some guidance. Participants in the Incredible Years programme reported…
Resource type: Evaluation
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Republic of Ireland
This book tells the story of how The Atlantic Philanthropies’ 30 years of investments had an extraordinary impact on the Republic of Ireland—from helping breathe life into the nation’s university system and its research capabilities, to supporting major advances in human rights, and spurring the…
Resource type: Insight
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Ready to Learn: Working in Partnership with Schools and Families to Help Raise Achievement
Source: Institute of Child Care Research, Queen’s University Belfast
Completing school is a fundamental task in order to succeed in life. Yet too many children from disadvantaged backgrounds fall behind soon after they start school and never catch up. A programme designed to help young children get the start they need has shown promising…
Resource type: Research Report
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Northern Ireland
This book tells the story of Atlantic’s grantmaking in Northern Ireland, where it helped promote peace, reshape education, improve public services, and strengthen organizations to promote and protect people’s rights.
Resource type: Insight
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Early Childhood Education in Ireland
Source: Publicpolicy.ie
This report compares the provision of early childhood education in Ireland to other developed countries. Overall the report found that despite evidence showing high returns from investment, Ireland spends significantly less than other developed countries on early childhood education. The report bases its comparisons using data…
Resource type: Research Report
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Fund-Mapping: The Investment of Public Resources in the Wellbeing of Children and Young People in Northern Ireland
Source: Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY)
This report details total annual expenditure by the Northern Ireland government on children’s services, including how much money is invested to improve outcomes for children. The baseline findings in the report are meant to help guide discussions about future investments for prevention and early intervention. Learn…
Resource type: Research Report
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