Provision
Projects to help 'troubled' families successful, research suggests
Early intervention to support disadvantaged families is helping to turn families' lives around, according to Government figures.
Family intervention programmes, like the Mellow Parenting programme, have proved successful in helping families
The Department for Education statistics evaluating family intervention projects and services found that there was a significant improvement in the lives of 3,675 families who took part in programmes and have since left.
Programmes offer multi-agency support through a dedicated key worker who offers direct help and is able to refer families for specialist support, around issues such as poor parenting, relationship breakdown, domestic violence, or child protection – or problems relating to health, education and employment, or crime and anti-social behaviour.
Statistics show that among these families who took part in programmes there were reductions of:
- 53 per cent per cent of truancy
- 58 per cent in anti-social behaviour
- 34 per cent reduction in child protection issues
- 57 per cent if domestic violence
- 40 per cent reduction in drug an alcohol problems
- 41 per cent reduction in crime
The figures show that overall 8, 841 families have been involved in family intervention programmes between January 2006 and March this year.
The number of families supported in the financial year to March 2011 was 5,462, almost double the number supported up to March 2010.
Separate research on the Family Pathfinder programme carried out for the DfE in 27 local authorities found that for every £1 invested, nearly £1.90 was saved.
Children’s minister Tim Loughton said, ‘Today’s statistics show an overwhelmingly positive picture of how intensive family intervention can successfully turn around the lives of families who have many complex problems, often present for generations within the same family.’
Mr Loughton added that more than 80 per cent of local authorities have told the department that they have kept a family intervention service, showing that they still see this work as a priority.
He said, ‘Intervening early and services working more efficiently with vulnerable families is central to the Government’s commitment to unlock social mobility and tackle child poverty. That’s why we are supporting local areas to expand family intervention services with the roll out of Community Budgets which help local areas to pool funding into one central pot.’
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said, ‘There has been a growing consensus about the need for early intervention and prevention and the powerful impact of family support for those families with complex problems. For all those working on the Prime Minister’s post riot plans to turn around the lives of the 120,000 most troubled families the answers are here.
‘These latest statistics provide further evidence that intensive family support can both break the cycle of disadvantage for many of our young people and result in huge economic savings for the country.’
