This report presents the findings from the national evaluation of the Children of Alcohol Dependent Parents (CADeP) programme innovation fund (IF) in England. The CADeP IF programme provided funding of £5.7 million to 9 areas – 13 local authorities – between November 2018 and March 2022. The aim of this programme was to:

• support local authorities in innovating and improving systems and practices to enhance the identification of, and outcomes for, children of alcohol dependent parents and their families
• increase awareness of parental conflict among services and explore ways of addressing it among such families

The key findings from this report are that this programme has resulted in:

• improvements in the timely identification of alcohol dependent parents, and children of alcohol dependent parents, to help avoid escalation of their situation
• improvements and innovation in the local system for supporting alcohol dependent parents and their children to better address their recovery from alcohol dependence
• increased numbers of alcohol dependent parents receiving treatment in the areas supported by this programme compared with national take up
• some evidence of a positive impact on outcomes for parents and children involved in this programme

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. The implementation of the CADeP IF project
3. Earlier identification of children, parents and families
4. Delivering support to children and families
5. Improving outcomes of children, parents and families
6. Conclusions and reflections
7. Next steps
Appendix A: details of 6 learning events
Appendix B: local evaluations