Families with Multiple Problems

Wendy Weal Families at Risk Division

‘new approach’ - national context . .

Government Commitment:

• Coalition agreement to ‘investigate a new approach to helping families with multiple problems’ focusing on 50-60,000 ‘high need’ families

Government Priorities:

• Big Society: empowering local services and communities to meet local need • Strip away obstacles that prevent disadvantaged children from succeeding• Building capacity and resilience within families and communities• Safeguard children at risk• Providing value for money services that are cost effective

‘new approach’ - national context . .

Key Challenges:• Building on existing projects (family intervention, family pathfinders, family

recovery project etc..) but improving access to specialist help and staff skills, links to other local services and to voluntary and community services, more sustainable funding and sharing good practice more widely

Approaches: • DfE/ADCS cost-effective children’s services project – focus on family

intervention to reduce entrants into the care system• Localism: ‘sector led’ sharing of best practice, information, research & data• Big Society: greater involvement of volunteers, non-state delivery models

Policy Links: • Child Poverty Strategy, DWP social justice, Frank Field, No 10 Children and

Families Taskforce, Munro Social Work Review, Family Law Review, Spending Review.

The Case: parental disadvantage severely limits a child’s opportunities to succeed . . . Poverty, unemployment, parenting alone, having a large family, poor or overcrowded housing, having a difficult child, parental illness and substance misuse, can have a negative impact on parenting - the factors are linked and mutually reinforcing (Ghate & Hazel, 2002). 142,000 families experience multiple and intergenerational deprivation and the children in 56,000 of these families also display serious ‘problem’ behaviours (Analysis of FACS - SETF 2008)

Treatment Agency estimate 120,000

children living with adult drug users in treatment

Treatment Agency estimate 120,000

children living with adult drug users in treatment

Around 1.3m children live with parents

who misuse alcohol.

Around 1.3m children live with parents

who misuse alcohol.

450,000 parents estimated to have

mental health problems

450,000 parents estimated to have

mental health problems

40% young carers have difficulties at school where

parent has alcohol problem

40% young carers have difficulties at school where

parent has alcohol problem

2001 Census estimated 22,000 young carers

caring between 20-50 hrs a week

2001 Census estimated 22,000 young carers

caring between 20-50 hrs a week

Young Carers often don’t know they are a carer – and may not be receiving support

1. Young Carer struggling at school

2. Referral to Targeted Support / Respite

3. Break, counselling and support

4. Young Carer refreshed but returns to caring

5. Difficulties re-emerge

6. More targeted support

7. Return back to caring role

Traditional model of support for young carers – supported in isolation – returns to same caring role

Cost to society of not working together can be high

Learning the Lessons from Serious Case Reviews

• “The enmeshed interaction between overwhelmed families and overwhelmed professionals contributed to the child being lost or unseen”

• Safeguarding is everyone’s business and we must all do more to spot the signs and intervene early

• In approx 75% Serious Case Reviews parental mental ill health/substance misuse/domestic violence a factor

• S 17 Children’s Act 1989 - LA duty to safeguard young people

1. Needs recognised

2. Needs assessed

3. Needs identified

4. Triggers for problems addressed

5. Family supported and young carer protected

6. Family support needs kept under review

Whole family approach – family supported – young person lifted out of inappropriate caring role

Refreshed Carers Strategy

Ministers agree that the vision of current Carers Strategy holds good:

• Vision: ‘carers will be universally recognised and valued as being fundamental to strong families and stable communities. Support will be tailored to meet individuals’ needs, enabling carers to maintain a balance between their caring responsibilities and a life outside caring, while enabling the person they support to be a full and equal citizen’

• Vision for young carers: ‘children and young people will be protected from inappropriate caring and have the support they need to learn, develop and thrive, to enjoy positive childhoods’

‘call for evidence’:

• The ‘call for evidence’ closed on 20 Sept• Asks what has worked well in improving carers’ lives • Will be used to help inform Spending Review discussions • Refreshed Carers Strategy and action plan setting out the priorities for the

period 2011/15 to be produced at the end of the year • emerging themes - early identification of young carers through schools and

in a range of adults services, personalisation of support, whole family approach, supporting young adult carers into employment and how to access services

Ministers have urged Adults and Children’s Services to work together to support young carers

– Lack of joint working between adult’s and children’s services is a factor in the problems experienced by young carers

– ADASS and ADCS published a Memorandum of Understanding on ‘working together to better support young carers’

– Encourages adult and children’s services to work closely together to improve support to young carers and their families

– Aims to ensure that no package of care relies on a young person having to take on inappropriate or excessive levels of care

– ADASS/ADCS intend to audit LAs in the autumn to find out what action has resulted from the MoU

A number of areas developing innovative practice

Aims:• Children’s and adult services and voluntary sector to work

together in a more co-ordinated and effective way• Identify and provide support for young carers and their families

Objectives: • Reduce young person’s caring role • Improve young person’s physical and emotional health • Improve young person’s school attendance and attainment• Support the whole family

17 areas receiving funding until March 2011 through the de ring-fenced Think Family Grant

Evaluation of innovative practice – York Consulting

Key findings

• Strong focus on ‘hidden’ carers and raising awareness

• Majority of referrals due to adult mental health concerns (50%) and adult drug misuse (33%)

• Wider risks were identified such as violence in the home/boundary setting and emotional health

• Team Around the Family/Lead Professionals coordinating integrated packages of support

• Improved access to wider support; parenting programmes & family group conferencing

Publications:• Evaluation reports on whole family approach and young carers to be

published at the end of 2010

Healthy SchoolsYoung carers want their schools and teachers to be more supportive

• A recent joint Princess Royal Trust for Carers/Children’s Society survey highlighted:

– 68% of young carers reported being bullied at school– 39% of young carers said that not a single teacher at their school knew they were a

young carer and, of those where the school did know, 52% still did not feel supported– 40% of young carers have difficulties at school where parent has alcohol problem

In response:

– The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and The Children’s Society has produced a schools pack

– An increasing numbers of schools have included young carers as a key theme within their own ‘Healthy Schools’ programmes

– DfE and DH working with the National Young Carers Coalition as part of Healthy Schools approach to develop a young carers e-learning module for school staff – plans to make available later in the year

£1m Innovation Fund

Innovation Fund• 20 voluntary sector projects funded until March 2011 to extend the

support they provide to young carers to the whole family

• Princess Royal Trust for Carers managing the fund on behalf of National Young Carers Coalition

• 1457 young carers and their families will benefit

Projects are:• Developing family support role to work with the family in a more

intensive way

• Working more proactively and effectively with local authority services

• Providing early preventative support

• Developing family advocacy services for young carers

• Providing family group conferencing to develop support plans

• Providing 'out of hours' services

24

29

14

18

11

14

9

57

39

30

33

26

24

23

Truancy, exclusion and bad behaviour at school – 58% reduction

Mental health problem – 26% reduction

Drug/substance misuse – 45% reduction

Relationship breakdown

Child Protection – 42% reduction

Domestic Violence - 61% reduction

Risk factors at point of referral

Risk factors at point of exit

“Results show that the outcomes

for families ending the

intervention with a formal

planned exit, compared with their

situation at the beginning of the

project are overwhelmingly

positive across a wide range of

measures” (Natcen 2009)

NatCen research based on 1013 families who have exited the intervention (March 2010)

Drinking problem/alcoholism - 53% reduction

Strong evidence to support family intervention and whole family ways of working