Equal Opportunities

This report is the final evaluation of five initiatives with a total of 39 pilot projects for vulnerable children and young people under the action programme "Equal Opportunities".
The projects ran from 2009 to 2014 and aimed at providing vulnerable children and young people with the same opportunities for personal fulfilment, development and health as their peers.

The report evaluates five initiatives: Subsequent care for young people previously in care; out-patient schemes for young people, singles and vulnerable mothers; networks and conversation groups for vulnerable children and young people; social caretakers at youth residences; and a 24-hour contact scheme for young people. Most of the interventions were evaluated quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Moreover, the report describes how the interventions have been established in municipalities after the end of the projects in 2014.

There are many differences between the interventions included in the evaluation. However, the overall conclusion is that the interventions provide a much needed haven for vulnerable children and young people. On the other hand, the interventions generally do not seem to provide young people with employment or education, even though this has often been an explicitly formulated goal. Moreover, the quality of an intervention does not necessarily seem to determine whether or not the intervention is continued.

The study was commissioned and financed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Interior and conducted by the Danish National Centre for Social Research on behalf of the National Board of Social Services.