Medway Action For Families
(Troubled Families and
European Social Fund Programme)
Project Manager: Andrew Willetts
Troubled Families
Background
•
On 15th December 2011, the Prime Minister made a speech announcing need for a
“social recovery in Britain". This speech built on previous announcements following the
civil disturbances of summer 2011. The Prime Minister set out that “a relatively small
number of families are the source of a large proportion of the problems in society”. The
Government announced that nationally an estimated £9 billion per annum is spent on
120,000 families equating to approximately £75,000 per family and identified within the
overall national data that Medway has 560 troubled families.
•
Medway’s aim for the programme is not about a centrally prescribed delivery strategy;
it is about re-redesign of local services, it is about local partners working together to
identify local solutions with and for local families. Sustainable success will require
leadership and engagement at a senior level by all local partners across public and
voluntary sectors.
•
Andrew Willetts was appointed as Medway’s Troubled Families Coordinator in July
2012 having previously managed the Integrated Prevention Service (Family
Intervention Programme, Targeted Youth Support, Youth Inclusion Support
Programme- Triage programme and mentoring).
Short term
Develop a strategic group who will oversee the programme and agree the
first families identified through criteria being met and develop a Targeted
Team Around the Family ensuring the results for payment by result exist
within the plan for the family.
Develop a ‘Targeted Team Around the Family’ approach through which the
family is at the centre of jointly planned strategy, tactics and operations.
Agencies hold each other to account and a process akin to the CAF/ CIN/ CP
would perhaps provide both coordination and necessary internal outcome
audit mechanism.
To provide intensive support to vulnerable families, facing multiple and
complex needs, utilising multi-agency, whole family support plans and
assertive working methods.
To use SMART Support Plans for each family, 6 weekly reviews and
formalised exit plans at the end of the service intervention, which adheres to
the prescribed DSCF intensive family case work model.
Long term
We will conduct a ‘Cost Benefit Analysis’ on families identified to demonstrate
cross directorate and interagency savings and expenditure. We will be using
software to track the progress of families to evidence work to set success/
risk indicators that relate to priorities set by the DCLG. We will evidence
family progress relevant to payment by results and develop a business cases
for investment in the future.
We will look to develop success/ risk indicators that can be adapted to suit
Medway priorities. This will be integrated with national savings calculator and
provision of an estimated cost saving picture for the Medway Action For
Families but also for Medway as a Local Authority. Hidden Patterns a
software management tool will be used along with our local data to identify
gaps and future troubled families to ensure our services are best placed to
work with the most vulnerable and at risk families in the future.
Overview
We have changed the ‘Troubled Families’ programme name to ‘Medway Action
For Families’.
Medway are looking to develop a virtual multi agency hub of skilled front line
professionals to work on a prioritised and phased programme to directly support
those families identified as ‘Troubled Families’. The aim will be to reduce the
impact of harm/ cost on the community caused by certain individuals & families
and their use of public services by unravelling and assessing the complex needs
of problem families delivering voluntary intervention with identified families to
address ongoing issues.
We will set up a strategic group, in line with the requirements set by the
Department of Communities for Local Government (DCLG), that can effectively
address the operational challenges faced by the services supporting these
families.
Data collection was commissioned to Medway Youth Trust.
Criteria
Criteria 1: Crime and anti-social behaviour
Households with one or more under 18 year old with a proven offence in the last twelve month
And/or
Households where one or more member has an anti-social behaviour order, anti-social behaviour
injunction, anti social behaviour agreement, or where the family has been subject to a housing related
anti-social behaviour intervention in the last 12 months (such as notice of seeking possession on antisocial behaviour grounds, a housing-related injunction, a demotion order, eviction from social housing
on anti-social grounds)
Criteria 2: Education
Household where a child has been subject to permanent exclusion; three or more fixed school
exclusions across the last three consecutive terms OR
Is in a Pupil Referral Unit or alternative provision because they have previously been excluded; OR is
not on a school roll
And/or
A child has had 15% unauthorised absences or more from school across the last three consecutive
terms
Criteria 3: Work
Households which meet criteria 1 and/or 2 and which also have an adult on DWP out of work benefits
– Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), Incapacity Benefit, Carer’s Allowance, Income Support
and/or Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), Severe Disablement Allowance)
At present
The families are targeted using 3 national criteria with a fourth local
criterion yet to be finalised. The following are under consideration:
•
Families where there is domestic violence.
•
Families living in the safer stronger wards (These include Luton and
Wayfield, Chatham Central and Gillingham North).
•
Large Families (5 Children plus).
•
Families with children not engaging in pre-school provision (linking
this work with the Children’s centres).
•
Families with young people 16-18 NEET where there is no adult
working either. (This work will develop through 14-19 Youth Matters
board- Raising the Participation Age project).
•
Families with Mental Health issues within the home.
•
Families where drugs and alcohol is a risk within the home
Map of Troubled Families:
Top 3 wards:
Ward:
Count
%
Chatham Central
68
11.83
Gillingham North
65
11.30
Luton and Wayfield
56
9.74
% of payment
(£4000 for 5 out of 6
families).
Year Upfront fee PBR
• 2012-13
80%
20%
£3200
£800
• 2013-14
60%
40%
£2400
£1600
• 2014-15
40%
60%
£1600
£2400
TF Numbers
Targets
Contacts
August 2012- March 2013 180
April 2013 - March 2014
257
April 2014 - March 2015
123
Total
560
Upfront
£480'000
£514'000
£164'000
£1'162'667
PBR
£120'000
£342'666
£246'000
£703'999
Total
£600'000
£856'666
£410'000
£1'866'666
What Medway’s programme is
seeking to achieve:
Exploring how together how we can tackle the root causes of problems to promote
real and sustained changes in peoples’ lives and also look to support the community.
This will be achieved by creating multi agency hubs focusing on identified families of
which some will be trained to then support future programme initiatives as the
programme develops.
Medway’s aim for the programme is not about a centrally prescribed delivery
strategy; it is about re-redesign of local services, it is about local partners working
together to identify local solutions with and for local families. Sustainable success will
require leadership and engagement at a senior level by all local partners across
public and voluntary sectors.
We are looking to support and turn around the lives of 560 families through this
programme but also seek to ensure there is sustainability for the future working of
families in Medway. We want closer integrated working with all partners ensuring we
tackle and support the right families and guide and advise others.
We want to use this agenda to form a template for future working around local
criteria/ priorities for the council and all partners enabling the development of local
people with local solutions resulting in positive outcomes for Medway Families.
European Social Fund
Background:
•
The provision is designed to help towards employing people in families where there
is a history of worklessness or multigenerational unemployment, combined with a
range of wider family and individual problems that make working a difficult prospect
for them.
•
These families would also come within scope of the Government’s wider Troubled
Families agenda.
•
The Government is determined to turn around the lives of 120,000 of the most
troubled families. Medway figure is 577.
•
DWP is using around 200m of ESF funding to help further support these families
•
The programme is aimed to tackle the challenge of troubled families to support them
to:
• overcome multiple barriers
• and support members of the family to move into work
Criteria:
The Local Authority will have responsibility for identifying multigenerational families with multiple problems or a history of worklessness
to join the provision.
-
There must be at least one ‘Qualifying Person’ per family but they do not
have to volunteer for the programme
-
A Qualifying Person is a person on an eligible DWP working age (16+)
benefit:
Jobseeker's Allowance
Employment and Support Allowance
Incapacity Benefit
Income Support
Carers Allowance
Severe Disablement Allowance
•
•
•
•
•
•
-
Not already on an ESF programme.
Phase of implementation
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase
IPS
JCP
Social Care
Childrens
centres
IYSS
Single Point of entry
Screen against Troubled Families criteria:
ESF
1.
Involved in crime and ASB
2.
Have Children not in School
3.
Have an adult on working benefits
4.
High cost to the LA.
Meets criteria
3 and 4.
Meets all
criteria
Or
(2 areas plus
criteria 4).
Troubled
family
Process
Each phase identifies their families
meeting criteria
Refer to ESF project manager:
andrew.willetts@medway.gov.uk.cjsm.net
Checks completed
Project manager refers to ESF
Family contacted in 3 days by skills training
Skills training meet with family
in 5 days
Family start the programme
ESF Numbers
April 2012 - Sept 2012
100
Oct 2012 - March 2013
150
Total 2012/13
250
April 2013 - Sept 2013
180
Oct 2013 - March 2014
147
Total 2013/14
Total Families for ESF
327
577
Results for Troubled Families
Troubled Families
Will this work….?
Panel/ focus group
Criteria and data matching
Single Point of entry
CSP
JCP
Integrated
Prevention
Service
Troubled
Families
(Virtual Hub)
School/
Academies
Housing
ESF
programme
Police
Probation
YOT
X 10
X9
X 20
SW Students
Keyworkers
Keyworkers
Health
Parenting
Social care
Inclusion
etc
Assessment in place (CAF/ CIN/ CP)
%
Delivery and action plan. (Includes focus on criteria)
NFA
Standard
Enhanced
Intensive
back
?
FFT
Family evaluation
Review (6 weeks, 12 week,
and feedback
18 weeks, and 24 weeks).
Close
Payment by result
Governance
Owned by Children's trust- responsible for all
YOT
Children's Trust
Management
Board
Community
Safety
Partnership
Strands of the Troubled Families agenda
CADMT
Emotional
well-being
Board
Parenting and
Families
support
partnership
PI set for
each board?
Medway Action For Families:
1.
Medway Youth Diversion Scheme (MYDS)
2.
Family Functional Therapy (FFT)
3.
European Social Fund (ESF)
4.
Troubled Families (TF)
Task group/ virtual hub:
Multi agency focus/Team around the family
Single point
of access
Questions
•
What are the Voluntary sector forum initial thoughts on the local discretionary
criteria suggested for Medway?
•
Will the Voluntary sector forum fully support the Medway Action For Families
(Troubled Families and European Social Fund)?
•
How should the Medway (and Kent) troubled families Programme Interface
with the Voluntary sector forum?
•
Would the Voluntary sector forum like to receive future reports and updates on
progress?
•
What can the Voluntary sector forum offer in support and guidance of the
Troubled Families programme?
•
Have I covered the issues you wanted to understand and know about or are
there other aspects you’d like to discuss?
Questions