Think Family Support & Parenting Staged Intervention

Level of Need / Family Support Coordinators / Think Family / Parenting Early Intervention Programme / Community Service Volunteers / Family Intervention Project
Stage 4
Acute / Not at Stage 4 / The Think Family Pathfinder will:
·  Secure sustained engagement in employment, education or training for all family members.
·  Challenge and build families’ aspirations for their future.
·  Co-ordinate delivery of provision within an integrated plan for the family.
·  De-escalate families’ needs and reintegrate families’ access to and support from universal services.
The pilot will capture the families most at risk and those disengaged through identifying those who are known to: Probation; Adult Drug and Alcohol Services; Children’s Social Care – children on the edge of care due to neglect or family conflict; The Youth Offending Service ;Adult Social Care; Adult mental health provider; FIP; Health-led parenting project; MARRAC and PPO.
Currently working with 38 families. 151 Individuals of which are 100 children/young people. / PEIP aims to increase support through evidence based Strengthening Families Programme for parents of children aged 8-13 years at risk of negative outcomes (particularly anti-social behaviour) and ensure that these families receive an earlier, more effective, coordinated package of relevant support. / CSV (ViCP) in partnership with a Local Authority offers a helping hand/listening ear for families in crisis. CSV (Community Service Volunteers) is providing an innovative volunteering project to change the lives of families with children at risk, subject to a Child Protection Plan.
The volunteers support a wide range of family situations including:
·  Large chaotic families where long term neglect is a factor
·  Families where learning difficulties or mental health issues are a factor
·  Families where substance abuse may be a contributing issues
·  Families where the parents are young or where there is little extended family or community support. / The family intervention project is to support children, young people and their families through the process of making positive change. It also aims to identify and tackle the causes of poor behaviour and parenting, which involves issues such as drug and alcohol misuse, poor health, domestic violence, unemployment and debt. The FIP protects victims, witnesses and the community; enables the perpetrator of ASB to recognise the consequences of their behaviour; ensures that the perpetrator has access to support to help change their behaviour and put in places measures to prevent future repetition.
Southend, in conjunction with South Essex Homes, Social Landlords and police have established a core unit which enables theproject to work more effectively with families in all three types of accommodation.: -
Type 1 Assertive Outreach support services to families in their own home
Type 2 Dispersed Accommodation in the community
Type 3 Supervised Accommodation in a residential core unit
Stage 3
Complex / The Family Support Team aim to support vulnerable and disadvantaged families and their children aged 0 – 13 who are at risk of underachieving and being excluded.
Coordinators work with various professionals across tiers one and two to meet the needs of families. This includes close and consistent working relationships with Children Centres in providing early intervention and preventative services to children at the EYFS. Work with children and/or their parents to understand and recognize negative entrenched behaviours and family script that may influence the emotional health and well being of children. Team members also support young people 5-13 via the CAF process.
The team recruits and trains volunteers who offer help to groups in a number of different settings as well as empower parents through peer parenting. / Not at Stage 3 / PEIP aims to increase support for parents of children aged 8-13 years at risk of negative outcomes (particularly anti-social behaviour) and ensure that these families receive an earlier, more effective, coordinated package of relevant support. / Not at Stage 3 / Not at Stage 3
Stage 2
Vulnerable / The Family Support Team aim to support vulnerable and disadvantaged families and their children aged 0 – 13 who are at risk of underachieving and being excluded.
Coordinators work with various professionals across tiers one and two to meet the needs of families. This includes close and consistent working relationships with Children Centres in providing early intervention and preventative services to children at the EYFS. Work with children and/or their parents to understand and recognize negative entrenched behaviours and family script that may influence the emotional health and well being of children. Team members also support young people 5-13 via the CAF process.
The team recruits and trains volunteers who offer help to groups in a number of different settings as well as empower parents through peer parenting. / Not at Stage 2 / PEIP aims to increase support for parents of children aged 8-13 years at risk of negative outcomes (particularly anti-social behaviour) and ensure that these families receive an earlier, more effective, coordinated package of relevant support. / Not at Stage 2 / Not at Stage 2
Stage 1
Personalised Universal / The Family Support Team aim to support vulnerable and disadvantaged families and their children aged 0 – 13 who are at risk of underachieving and being excluded.
Coordinators work with various professionals across tiers one and two to meet the needs of families. This includes close and consistent working relationships with Children Centres in providing early intervention and preventative services to children at the EYFS. Work with children and/or their parents to understand and recognize negative entrenched behaviours and family script that may influence the emotional health and well being of children. Team members also support young people 5-13 via the CAF process.
The team recruits and trains volunteers who offer help to groups in a number of different settings as well as empower parents through peer parenting. / Not at Stage 1 / Not at Stage 1 / Not at Stage 1
Success Criteria / The Family Support Coordinator managing the Two Year Old Strategy has placed 136 children in settings with 20 children currently on the waiting list – a project which gives children who may be at risk access to an extra year of free early years education.
Family Support Team Groups (April 2009 – March 2010): -
Work with parents includes baby massage/yoga/rhythm kids/parenting 1456; Young Parents Support 25; Young Parents (residential) 15; Parenting – PEIP (Strengthening Families) 15; Girls Allowed (Raising Aspirations) 4 primary schools & 2 secondary schools 61; Self esteem 7; Work with Fathers 70; Volunteers currently working in settings 64; Volunteers currently held on file 103; Two Year Old Strategy Placed 136; Two Year Old Strategy Waiting List 20; CAF 95; Non CAF 25. / ·  Reduction of Child Protection Plans from 15 – 9 families
·  6 families have progressed out of stage 4 services to Children & Family Panels at Stage 3 or have been closed to Specialist Services since their involvement
·  13 children’s school attendance has improved out of 17 children
·  9 parents are accessing voluntary, education and training opportunities
·  23 out of 45 families have one Integrated Family Plan with the aim of 45 families having one plan by the end of April
·  Of families where domestic violence was an issue, 80% have seen a reduction in domestic violence reports to the police
·  Family plans are agreed with the families and goals set and reviewed thereafter to track progress. Goals are very specific to each family member e.g. one mother’s goal is that her family sit down together for a family meal / We have trained 56 facilitators to date. These represent a cross section of staff from education, YOS, residential care, schools, student social workers, housing, police, adult community care, domestic abuse project and family support workers alongside volunteers from 3 local voluntary sector projects.
The groups began in January 2010 and we have, to date, run 11courses incorporating 71 families. Whilst we are currently undertaking a more in depth analysis of the impact of the programme, parents an children alike are reporting changes reflecting those of the pilot study and in many cases quite significant changes in both behaviour, familial relationships and parenting skills. Furthermore, we have referred families onto continuing support (e.g. YISP, FIP, Respect Parenting Practitioner) at the end of the 7 weeks Parenting Programme. / It costs about £2,500 to support a family for one year, most families have on average 4-5 children, On this basis the cost per child is very low. It is clear from the evidence collected that volunteers have enormous potential to counteract the ‘costs’ of a child not going to school, or a family missing medical appointments, or the costs of a family getting further into debt, or the cost of lacking confidence to gout and seek employment. / Worked with 103 families, with 25 currently being worked with and a further 9 at assessment stage. 1 family is currently in core unit.
An average cost for each family to services at their referral to FIP is £23, 537.12. Based on our costings this represent a saving to the borough of £2,424,311.00, although data from DCSF (dept of Education) suggests that family intervention generates an average saving in the region of £81,624 per family per year with children social care being the largest beneficiary, with an average saving of £37,726 for each family supported.