Child helplines' approach to assessing user satisfaction and the impact of their services

Abstract

Child Helpline International invited its members within the European Union (EU), together with some other members outside of the EU to participate in this research about child helplines’ approach to impact assessment. In this mixed-methods research, key informants from nine child helplines took part in in-depth interviews, and subsequently participated in a survey asking for broader information about impact assessment and measuring the child helpline’s outcomes for children and young people. The results from the research indicate that impact can be defined in multiple ways and across multiple levels by the different stakeholders of the child helpline : • Firstly, a child helpline can be directly impactful to their users through providing them the immediate support they need. • Secondly, beyond the service users, a child helpline can also have an impact on the service itself, whereby the services are developed and adapted according to the needs of children. It can also be impactful through the community, for example through creating awareness of issues children face, and on the wider national context through advocacy efforts with stakeholders. Child helplines focus on both immediate and longer-term outcomes. The latter generally happens within the child helpline’s wider context in the community and on national level as described above. There are several examples of good practices through which child helplines assess their impact and their service-users’ satisfaction. Most child helplines ask some questions to child callers during or after the contact, and utilise other methodologies like surveys and qualitative research, with service users, with volunteers and counsellors and other stakeholders. Some child helplines also employ individuals or have teams specifically focused on measuring impact or evaluating outcomes. When helplines have no formal systems to do so, they use any information available to them such as spontaneous feedback from children However, some core aspects of the operations of child helplines, particularly anonymity, confidentiality, holding only one-off sessions, the nature of child helplines’ contacts and the resources available do not lend themselves well to easily assess impact. To address this issue, some child helplines incorporate measures within their service-provision to make up for the fact that impact measurement is not always feasible or possible to ensure the quality and consistency of their services. In some cases, specific protocols and Standard Operational Procedures are prepared to ensure the consistency and quality of the service. Quality is also ensured through careful recruitment of counsellors, initial and ongoing training for volunteers and employees, the availability of supervision, peer supervision and the possibility for counsellors to consult with professionals when needed. This way, quality of services can be ensured when impact measurement is not appropriate or feasible. For many child helplines, financial, human, and technological resources is a barrier to developing systems for impact assessment. Therefore, child helplines could benefit from additional financial, human, and technological resources to maintain their current functioning but also expand their capabilities in measuring the impact of their work, as part of continuous review and improvement.