Families with Complex Needs – What should Local Authorities do?

The Issue A number of factors for parents impact on their ability to parent well and impact negatively  on their children in terms of both immediate safety and longer-term outcomes, including if a  child is taken into care. Most prominent amongst these vulnerabilities for parents are drug  misuse, alcohol misuse, mental health problems, domestic abuse and offending. These vulnerabilities are often linked, overlapping and mutually reinforcing.  Families with multiple vulnerabilities present challenges for services, cost the local authority  and health services significant amounts of money to respond to, and are difficult for staff to  work with effectively across social care and partner agencies. Policy Context The new Government has committed to helping families with multiple problems.  Nationally, there has been a raft of policies over the last decade placing greater emphasis on  the importance of the family, including Think Family, the Drug Strategy, the Youth Alcohol Action  Plan and Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance. What Works There is a growing evidence base to support the efficacy of whole family interventions that  demonstrate improved outcomes for vulnerable and complex families and provide evidence of  cost savings or cost avoidance for public services. These have been shown to be effective for  families with parental substance misuse, domestic abuse and mental health problems.  These programmes include Westminster Family Recovery Project, Family Intervention Projects,  Strengthening Families Programme, Option 2, M-PACT and Family Drug and Alcohol Courts. Delivery Options Using the evidence of what works and the local needs analysis, we have developed a set of  principles and characteristics of effective programmes that should underpin any future service  development, joint working protocols and training. We have also outlined three delivery models  to take this work forward: 1. A multi-agency joint working protocol 2. A programme of training, support and co-location 3. Adopting an evidence-based programme Identify Conduct an exercise to identify the top 400-600 complex families that cost local authorities the most money to deal with. Pool training resources by bringing together budgets, expertise, venues and  overlapping issues (e.g. parental drugs, alcohol, mental health, domestic violence)  into a single set of training programmes to: (i) help identifying agencies to spot signs  and engage complex families; and (ii) develop whole family working practices across  key agencies. Pool communications resources to ensure that key messages about working  with complex families go to all staff across agencies in a joined up way, spreading  evidence of what works. Commissioning priority should be given for parents with vulnerabilities and complex families,  with commissioners actively ensuring an appropriate response from service providers. Intervene Improve inter-agency working through developing and implementing a specific  protocol to drive improved joint working for complex families. Key agencies need to  sign up, setting out expectations and commitments from each agency in line with  evidence of what works. Consider adopting evidence based programmes to deal with complex families more effectively. Bridge the gap between adult and children’s services by joining up the safeguarding  functions and championing a multi-agency approach to complex families, in line with  evidence based programmes. Consider whether the current use of money for drug testing and substance misuse experts  in child care proceedings could be more effectively used to fund specialist drugs worker  input co-located with children’s social care to joint work these cases. Prevent Address the current gap in support after a child goes into care when parents have  vulnerabilities, by ensuring appropriate family strengthening support and parenting  skills for the parents and specific support for the children who may experience long term problems. Establish self support groups for parents (esp. mothers) going through these issues. The above information was produced by our partner organisation Tonic as part of their  work with local authorities and other providers to better support families with complex needs. Alongside The Training Effect they offer a range of services that can help local authorities  and other providers to better support these families, saving money, improving efficiency  and improving outcomes for children and families. For further information please take a look at our websites. Mark Bowles