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The Families First Programme in Herefordshire
Sandra Lloyd:Troubled Families
Officer
What is the Families First programme?
• Herefordshire’s response to the National Troubled Families initiative
• Multi-agency approach to supporting families
• Its aim is to:
– “turn around” the most chaotic and challenging families within the county
– Improve family and community outcomes
– Reduce the demand on public sector services
National Troubled Families Programme
• 3 year national programme (to 2014/15) launched by the Prime Minister in 2011 and it is led by Louise Casey CB.
• Government data collected estimated that £9 billion is spent annually on these families – an average of £75,000 per family each year
• The Government is committed to working with local authorities and their partners to help 120,000 troubled families in England turn their lives around by 2015.
• The government has made available £448 million over 3 years of the programme. This represents 40% of the average cost of turning families around with the remaining 60% coming from local budgets.
• Part of the TF funding is on a payment by results basis.
• Based on impact to-date the government has confirmed the programme will run for a further five years from 2015/16 working with 400,000 families.
What issues do families have?
• are involved in crime or anti-social behaviour • have children who are regularly truanting, not attending school• have an adult on out-of-work benefits • domestic violence and abuse• homelessness / housing issues• families with health problems eg mental health, drug/alcohol misuse• don’t take up early years entitlements• child protection issues• cost the public sector large sums in responding to their problems
National Troubled Family criteria
Progress of Families First Programme• 3 year target is to “turn round” 310 families by March 2015 • So far we have achieved this for 174 families.
Out of these 174 Families:
• 43 % had Crime & anti-social behaviour• 47 % had poor school attendance• 28 % are out of work• 43% had domestic abuse in the household• 35% have drug/alcohol misuse issues• 20% of children are on CP plan• 39% have mental health issues within the household• 36% of Families identified have had a child assessed as a Child
in Need under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989
Progress of Families First cont..174 families has secured us “payment by results” of £150k – which means extra funding in the county to support families
BUT by May 2015
We need to have supported another 136 familiesAnd bring into the county potentially another £200k
IDENTIFY THESE FAMILIES NOW!
How are families helped?
• Families are identified by partners• Email [email protected]• Families First Team check data with other partners to confirm
they are eligible• Some families are already receiving services• More complex cases are discussed at multi-agency meeting
with support identified and actioned• Sanctions can be used to encourage families to engage• Families are monitored to ensure they are achieving positive
outcomes – then we can claim the payment by results funding
Positive Outcomes achieved: a case study
• Attention was focussed on a village south of Hereford that showed increasing numbers of ASB carried out by teenagers; police data narrowed it to three families, these teenagers also showed poor school attendance
• FF Operational Group agreed to tackle all three families at the same time, joint visits were carried out by police, housing associations and Family Support workers and potential sanctions were discussed with family if they didn’t engage with the help being offered
• Local police officer was asked to change shifts for one week to be able to get one of the children ‘out of bed’ in the morning and to get him to school
• Latest feedback received shows that ASB has reduced and an increased level of school attendance
• Previous single agency intervention with the families did not show any improvements
What works?
• Dedicated key worker• Supports whole family• Gives practical, hands-on support• Assertive, challenging relationship• Agreed plan and outcomes the family want
to achieve
• Identify families needing support using ID form on council website
• Spread awareness and understanding of the programme
• Invite us to your team meetings• Contact us:
Sandra Lloyd tel 01432 261974Lee Bayley tel 01432 260414
What can you do?
