'Troubled Families' and Inter-agency Collaboration: Lessons from Historical Comparative Analysis.

与执行政府目前的“困难家庭”方案有关的许多挑战在过去是有先例的。对构成家庭剥夺和需要的问题的概念化遵循一种周期性的模式，几个世纪以来经常提出在儿童和家庭服务领域进行更大的机构间合作。然而，政策举措往往具有“历史健忘症”的特征。“困难家庭”与机构间合作：来自历史比较分析的教训”项目创造性地展示了对具有高影响力的当代志愿机构战略教训的历史背景材料进行二次分析的价值。它建立在学术研究人员和家庭行动志愿机构之间的密切合作基础上，家庭行动自1869年作为慈善组织协会成立以来，一直是为贫困家庭提供服务的主要机构。该研究运用历史比较的视角来探索，随着时间的推移，社会中最贫困人口所面临和产生的问题是如何通过经济约束时期的合作机构得到不同的解释和解决的。它利用了一个独特的、未被充分利用的数据集：可追溯到19世纪末的存档家庭行动案件工作文件。将从四个关键的历史时期选取多达五个案例进行深入分析，以捕捉家庭本身和家庭支持机构在经济困难时期面临的挑战：长萧条（1873-1896），大萧条（1930-1934），石油危机（1973-1975）和全球危机（2008-2012）。家庭案件的选择将基于：在伦敦；有受抚养子女的家庭面临贫穷、健康不良和住房条件差的问题；至少涉及三个机构。该研究将对以下方面的变化和连续性提供批判性思考：(a)在经济衰退期间和跨越四个主要时期支持家庭的机构间合作以及国家-第三部门关系的转变情况，以及(b)将家庭视为有社会问题和边缘化的家庭，他们的需求和解决办法。研究结果将纳入家庭行动的战略，以加强与其他机构的合作，加强其历史认同感和长期成果和影响，并为其用户的社会利益吸引新的资助者。研究人员将与家庭行动组织合作，传播机构间合作的经验，在儿童、家庭和贫困领域支持经济紧缩时期的“困难家庭”。此外，这项研究将有助于发展历史比较工作的方法实践，以及关于社会学和社会政策领域机构间合作的知识。

Many of the challenges associated with implementing the Government's current 'troubled families' programme have their precedent in the past. Conceptualisations of the issues framing family deprivation and need have followed a cyclical pattern, and greater inter-agency collaboration in the field of children and family services has regularly been proposed across the centuries. Yet policy initiatives tend to be characterised by 'historical amnesia'. The '"Troubled families" and inter-agency collaboration: lessons from historical comparative analysis' project is a creative demonstration of the value of secondary analysis of historically situated material for high impact contemporary voluntary agency strategy lessons. It is founded on a close partnership between the academic researchers and the Family Action voluntary agency, which has been a leading provider of services to disadvantaged families since its foundation as the Charity Organisation Society in 1869.The study applies an historical comparative lens to explore how, over time, the problems faced and engendered by the poorest in society have been variously interpreted and addressed through collaborative agency working in times of economic constraint. It draws on a unique and under-exploited data set: archived Family Action case work papers stretching back to the late 19th century. Up to five cases for in-depth analysis will be drawn from four key historical periods, to capture the challenges faced by families themselves and family support agencies during times of economic hardship: The Long Depression (1873-1896), The Great Depression (1930-1934), The Oil Crisis (1973-1975) and The Global Crisis (2008-2012). Family cases will be selected on the basis of being: London-based; families with dependent children facing problems of poverty, ill health and poor housing; and involving at least three agencies.The study will provide critical reflections on changes and continuities in (a) inter-agency collaboration to support families during and across four major period of economic recession and shifting scenarios of state-third sector relations, and (b) constructions of families as socially problematic and marginalised, of their needs and solutions to them. Findings from the research will feed into Family Action's strategies to enhance collaboration with other agencies, strengthen its sense of its historical identity and longer term outcomes and impact, and attract new funders for the social benefit of its users. The researchers will work in partnerships with Family Action to disseminate lessons about inter-agency collaboration to support 'troubled families' in times of economic austerity in the children, families and poverty field. In addition the research will make a contribution to the development of methodological practice for historical comparative work and knowledge about inter-agency collaboration in the sociological and social policy fields.