Our new Chief Executive Michael O'Toole made a presentation at the Capita Conference 'Managing Demand in Public Services' held in London on 21st October 2014.

1. Redefining
Relationships between
Citizens & Services –
Prevention & Early
Engagement
Michael O’Toole

2. What the voluntary sector offers
• Expertise in what works
• Channel to service user
voice
• Access & relationship with
more demanding clients
• Early intervention &
prevention approach
• Ability to work
collaboratively
• Social Value

3. Mentor
Some children grow up without
ambition, not understanding
what society has to offer or
what they can contribute to
society. They believe they are
not good enough, feel out of
place and this leads to limited
life chances, reduced life
expectancy, and higher risk of
dependency on alcohol and
drugs. Fixing things when they
go wrong is not good enough.
We want every child to strive
to make the most of their life,
no matter what their
background.

4. What
we do
What we
know
works
What we
do that
we know
works
What
we do
that we
know
doesn’t
work
The Olive of
Prevention
Adapted from Harry Rutter, director of
the National Obesity Observatory

5. “Societies tend to make a
small investment in prevention
and, on average, they reap a
small return.”
Drug and Public Policy Group
Drugs and Public Policy Group (2010), Drug Policy and the Public Good: a summary
of the book. Addiction, 105: 1137–1145. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03049.x

6. Why we need early interventions
Early Childhood Adulthood
Level of Problem Behaviors
Source: PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Age 21, cost per
person already =
£91 - £121k
£827,000
Lifetime cost of male
problem drug user

7. Traditional perspective on
prevention
• Emphasising the harms will
disincentivise use?
• Young people given enough
information will make rational
decisions about their health?
• One off interventions are
enough?
• Prevention = school drug and
alcohol education/posters/TV
adverts?

8. Case study –
Scared Straight
• Programme assumes that by
showing ‘reality’ of the criminal
justice system young people will
want to avoid it
• Unfortunately trials of the
interventions have shown:
the ‘Scared Straight’
programme actually increased
the risk of offending in the
juveniles in the intervention
group compared with
juveniles in the control group
• The Social Research Unit
calculated that for every child it is
delivered to (£55) it costs a
further £14,268 to put right.
Scared Straight and Other Juvenile Awareness Programs for Preventing Juvenile Delinquency: A Systematic Review of the
Randomized Experimental Evidence, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science September 2003 vol.
589 no. 1 41-62

9. Setting and Systems
Environment
Family
School
Community
Photo by Flickr user Australian Govt.

10. Universal vs. Targeted
Photo by Flickr user Collin Key Photo by Flickr user CliffMuller
Photo by Flickr user Ian Freimuth
Delivered to all regardless of risk.
Examples include:
• school prevention programmes
• public health media campaigns
Delivered to higher risk groups.
Examples include:
• Family and parenting
programmes
• Screening and brief intervention

11. Case Study –
Good Behaviour Game
• Classroom strategy for 6 – 8
year olds. Programme
assumes that early
socialisation into school is
protective.
• Outcomes:
– Doing well in school
– Good behaviour
– Not using substances
– Not depressed
– No suicidal ideation
• SRU benefit to cost ratio
shows for every £1 invested
£26 is returned. Photo by Flickr user Philippe Put

12. Contact Details
Mentor
CAN-Mezzanine
49-51 East Road
London N1 6AH
020 7553 9920
Michael.otoole@mentoruk.org
@MentorTweets @otoole_michael
www.mentoruk.org.uk