Dundee is leading the way in tackling behaviour problems through a whole family approach, says Judith Napier
The idea of 'neighbours from hell' may be a cliche, but the costs they generate in eviction, rehousing and childcare make them a serious problem for local authorities. Gill Strachan, who manages a pioneering social project in Scotland, thinks a radical approach is necessary. She says, 'Anti-social behaviour is a low-sympathy issue. But the problems are intergenerational, and the cycle of problems has to stop somewhere.'
The Dundee Families Project offers a 'last chance' to families who are prepared to make a commitment to change. It was prompted by the realisation that too often, eviction simply moves the problem on. Children living out of suitcases, or in care, were the biggest casualties.
This was the root problem that Dundee City Council asked the charity NCH Scotland to address. The families in question are often headed by lone parents, usually jobless, frequently with mental and physical health problems, sometimes drink and drug abusers. A common factor is their inability to cope with childcare, housing or money issues. Late-night noise and aggression towards neighbours leads to statutory interventions from police, social services, education and housing officers.
Five years on, the Dundee Families Project's methods have been endorsed by the Scottish Executive and by Westminster, which hailed its success in a consultation paper on anti-social behaviour. Its example is being followed by Manchester City Council, with other local authorities watching closely.
The Dundee project has worked directly with more than 125 families since it started in 1997. Its three main elements are:
- an 'early intervention' outreach service working with families in their own homes or at the project base
- a residential unit for the most difficult families. Up to three families at a time live in this tenement block. It includes a resources area and staff accommodation for round-the-clock support. The average stay here is nine months.
- a supply of 12 dispersed flats in the city where families receive support, but less intensively than in the residential unit. Once they can demonstrate that they have settled into the community, they are offered tenancy.
The intensive service (three cases per project worker) includes a wide range of methods, from the practicalities of feeding children breakfast to anger management counselling. Families remain on the books for as long as it takes, typically 11 months. The involvement of NCH helps too, as families feel more inclined to engage with a charitable organisation than with local government departments, which they perceive as hostile.
The scheme itself faced hostility in its early days. Locals did not want anti-social neighbours on their doorstep. And the project costs the council 345,000 a year. But the alternative cost of legal bills in pursuing evictions and taking children into care is estimated at 462,000. Those figures do not take into account the long-term savings in having fewer neighbour disputes, more stable communities and positive changes for families. There are hopes of expanding the outreach element of the project to catch family difficulties before they escalate.
Gill Strachan says families must make a positive choice to work with the project. 'We have an upfront approach and we make it clear from day one what our approach is. People have access to their files. There is no hidden agenda. And the families buy into that.'
Services are tailored to what each individual family needs - help with anger management, parenting skills, cookery, domestic budgeting, or counselling on alcohol and drugs.
Families who have been homeless or living in insecure accommodation have often lost all sense of security. Health and education suffers. Gill Strachan says, 'In a family with young children we will be helping the parents with establishing routines, getting children to bed, getting them up, making breakfast, getting them to nursery, getting them to health appointments. We also run a group for younger children that is very successful - they love it.'
Gill Strachan is confident that the project's approach is the right one. 'Our job is to address anti-social behaviour. But you cannot address that in isolation. Very often when you look behind it you see social difficulties.'
The Dundee team has advised another project, called Foundations, tackling anti-social behaviour in Manchester's Collyhurst area. The first scheme of its kind in England and Wales, it is being run by NCH in association with the city council, Irwell Valley Housing Association and North Manchester Primary Care NHS Trust. Police, education, social services and probation services will be involved too. Families who agree to participate will be challenged to confront their problem behaviour, and given opportunities to learn a range of life skills.
John Postelthwaite, assistant director of children's services for NCH in the north-west, says that organising the council funding was difficult. But long-term finance has now been secured and the outreach service is now operating, with the core and dispersed elements due to start next year.
Mr Postelthwaite thinks that staging the project in this manner is a useful way of getting the community used to the idea, rather than enraging locals who will fear that their street is becoming a 'dumping ground' for problem tenants. He is confident that not only the families concerned but the whole neighbourhood stand to gain.
'Experience has taught NCH that this type of intervention really works,' he says. 'It is far from being an easy option for the families involved. We work closely with families to tackle their difficulties head-on, offering a range of professional support and advice which helps them to achieve long term change.'
Research into the Dundee project bears this out. A team headed by Prof-essor Michael Hill of the Centre for the Child and Society at Glasgow University undertook a two-year evaluation (jointly funded with the Scottish Executive) and found powerful evidence of its effectiveness.
Adults involved in the project believed they benefited from improved access to housing and to facilities for children, and reported positive changes in family relationships and behaviour. Their children welcomed the attention and play opportunities.
Professor Hill says, 'This project was seen as special because it was really a very innovative approach dealing with families who had major difficulties and trying to find an alternative, rather than resorting to draconian measures. 'On paper it looked good - the principles did seem attractive because it was based on intensive work and collaboration with other agencies. But these are quite difficult things to achieve, so we were genuinely impressed by the quality of work.'
The research confirmed the project offers value for money - certainly no more expensive than the conventional ways of dealing with these families and in fact, generating real long-term savings.
John Postelthwaite says, 'We would hope the project would provide for more stable families, where children are allowed to experience a much more normal upbringing and where, by encouraging the parents to think about what they can achieve, it can emphasise the same thing to the children so that hopefully the combination of positive messages through childhood will produce children who are more able to cope with the pressures of adult life.'
Gill Strachan agrees that it is not just in the financial savings that the project pays off. She says, 'In human terms - for the sake of children staying with families, staying in schools, their family problems being addressed - the impact is immeasurable.'
