A Unique Child: Inclusion - Family Intervention Projects

Innovative multi-agency programmes, which aim to turn around the lives of the most challenging and vulnerable families, are being expanded with 88 new Family Intervention Projects (FIPs) being launched across the country.

They will pay for an extra 200 keyworkers to provide intensive support to more than 1,200 families. Additional funds are also being allocated to local councils to start or extend existing FIPs in their areas.

Announcing the expansion recently, children and families minister Dawn Primarolo said, 'Family Intervention Projects challenge, confront and support parents and children to help them change their behaviour for the benefit of the whole family and wider community. Prevention is the best way to stop problems with families escalating and impacting on their neighbours.'

DCSF guidance to councils bidding for FIP funding notes that anti-social behaviour is instigated by 'the members of only a very small number of households', suffering from 'multiple disadvantages' (worklessness, poor health and mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence and low educational achievement) and having 'a disproportionate impact on the quality of life in the communities in which they live'.

KEY FEATURES

An evaluation of existing FIPs by the National Centre for Social Research, published last November (see box), found 'overwhelmingly positive improvements' among the families that completed the programme.

It identified the key features that are crucial to the effectiveness of FIPs:

A dedicated keyworker - to grip the family's problems and work with them intensively, co-ordinating services and using a combination of support, reward and sanctions to motivate families to change. Keyworkers offer direct help in parenting, life skills, motivation and self-confidence, as well as referring family members for specialist help such as substance misuse treatment, mental health services or group parenting programmes.

A whole-family approach

A contract - drawn up between the family and keyworker, setting out the changes to be expected, the support being provided and the consequences if agreed changes or tasks are not completed. Contracts nearly always include completion of a parenting programme.

Sanctions - families supported by FIPs are often facing sanctions such as ASBOs and court orders. The FIPs work with the families to improve behaviour, while being clear about the risks they face if changes do not occur

Multi-agency working - with strategic and operational commitment from all the relevant agencies such as police, early years and health services (depending on the target family groups).

BABY FIP

FIPs work with families who already have a lot of problems, but the innovative Baby FIP in the London borough of Tower Hamlets aims to effect change before children are disadvantaged by the difficulties facing their parents.

The team works closely with children's centres to offer FIP services to pregnant mothers and their families. Two keyworkers are working intensively on year-long programmes with five families each, says senior family practitioner Simone Curling.

'Alongside baby FIP, we have been running the 14-week Mellow Parenting programme focusing on families with children age under five,' she says. 'It is almost therapeutic in that it takes parents back to their own upbringing and explores how that might have impacted on them. It can be emotional with a lot of tears, but the outcome so far has been very positive.

'During the morning session, the mothers are together while their children are in a creche. The parents, workers and children have lunch together and then there is an activity for the parents and children to do together.'

CASE STUDY

'People have two paths in life,' says Lisa. 'They can either follow in the footsteps of their parents and remain in their comfort zone, or they can choose the other path, where you can make a difference, and a better life for yourself and your child.'

Lisa, who describes her own childhood as very sad and unstable with some time spent in care, has taken the second path. She has turned life around for herself and her baby daughter, thanks to Baby FIP.

Concerns about domestic violence, mental health, cannabis use and lack of independent living skills prompted the local children's social care team to refer Lisa to the project last May.

At that point, Lisa, 24, was depressed, experiencing panic attacks and living a socially isolated life, with the exception of her sister. She had experienced domestic violence while pregnant and four times moved into temporary accommodation, but each time her partner discovered where she lived.

She struggled as a parent and had spiralling debts because she had not replied to letters. Lisa's engagement with her keyworker was sporadic, dictated by her frequent use of cannabis.

Ten months on, she is able to manage their day-to-day life with a degree of confidence and has identified goals and aspirations. Baby FIP tackled:

Mental health: Lisa was helped to organise her time, by use of visual prompts, and with childcare, which allowed her to attend much-needed health appointments and the offer of long-term therapeutic group sessions.

Engagement: Once Lisa's mental health had been established, the team were better able to accommodate her sporadic engagement. Her keyworker developed a rapport with Lisa so she was able to discuss her personal history more openly. Her cannabis use reduced greatly as a result of her own motivation and the structure she has been helped to create in her daily life.

Domestic violence: Lisa established appropriate boundaries with her ex-partner, and has taken legal action to ensure her and her daughter's safety and well-being.

Money management: Her finances were brought under control by liaising with debtors and arranging suitable payment plans and she was been helped to develop the skills to manage and sustain her future finances.

Parenting: Lisa was given hands-on parenting support to create a safe and nurturing home environment with established daily routines. It entailed talking Lisa through tasks such as cleaning the home, budgeting, food shopping and nutrition.

Lisa was offered advice and guidance around child development, the importance of bonding, stimulation and play, and maintaining health and immunisation appointments - all helping to prepare her to attend the Mellow Parenting programme.

Baby FIP have observed increased confidence in both Lisa and her daughter, which is echoed by children's social care, the health visitor and the local children's centre, where their attendance has improved, and they are able to use the centre's activities sessions.

What FIPs achieve

The Monitoring and Evaluation report on FIPs says that of 2,295 families offered a FIP intervention 2,225 accepted and of these 699 (30 per cent) had completed it, while a further 990 families (43 per cent) were still taking part.

The study found that the families completing the programme had undergone great changes:

• - Families with no involvement in anti-social behaviour increased from 10 to 66 per cent
• - Families where there were concerns about child protection declined from 23 to 13 per cent
• - Families experiencing truancy, exclusion and bad behaviour at school declined from 56 to 25 per cent
• - Families affected by mental health problems declined from 38 to 27 per cent
• - Families in which domestic violence was a concern declined from 22 to 9 per cent
• - Families with drug and alcohol problems declined from 32 to 17 per cent