overcoming barriers to whole family working
DESCRIPTION
York Consulting is presenting at Children Society's Prevent Through Partnership capacity building days on overcoming barriers to whole family working. These slides provide a summary of our findings from our work in evaluating whole family approaches to support young carer families, particularly our Young Carer Pathfinders Evaluation (DfE). The slides show the potential impact of effective whole family approaches; what effective support looks like; the barriers to whole family working (cultural, structural and financial); and how these have been overcome.TRANSCRIPT
Overcoming Barriers to Whole Family Working
James Ronicle, Consultant
York Consulting
19th April 2012
Introduction
• Presentation will cover:
– Impact of whole family working
– What effective whole family working looks like
– Barriers to whole family working
– How barriers have been overcome at the strategic level
• Draws on a significant body of evidence:
– Evaluation of Family and Young Carer Pathfinders (DfE)
– Evaluation of the Innovation Fund (Carers Trust)
– Evaluation of Young Carers Grant (Carers Trust)
– Evaluation of Sheffield Young Carers Steering Group
– Evaluation of Blackpool Young Carers
Impact of Whole Family Working
“The evidence from this three year study presents a compelling case for LAs and their partners todevelop and implement intensive family support for families with multiple complex needs.”(Evaluation of Family & Young Carer Pathfinders)
Effective whole family work has a very positive impact….
No. = 308 families; 1,200 individuals
….and is cost effective.
Cost per family: £4,331Cost saving per family: £8,181For every pound spent, the project generated a saving of £1.89
71% 75% 66% 59% 59% 50% 45% 32%
Domestic Violence
Housing Parenting Relationships between Families
Child Protection Concerns
School Attendance
Anti-Social Behaviour
Caring Responsibilities
Percentage of Families where Concern was Removed
What Effective Whole Family Work Looks Like
Key is the presence of four key components:
Wider Services
Key Worker co-ordinating support for the whole family
Opportunities to bring the whole family together to
discuss issues and have respite
Strong understanding of all family needs, including Whole
Family Assessments
1
2
3
Whole Family Activities
4
Family
Key Worker
What Effective Whole Family Work Looks Like
These were in place at all points within the continuum of need:
Barriers to Effective Whole Family Support
• Focus on individual rather than whole family
• Unwillingness to work with whole family
• Difficulty working in partnershipCultural Barriers
• No formal joint working agreements
• No staff training
• Agencies not registered to work with whole familyStructural Barriers
• Who pays for what when difficulties faced by the adult are impacting on the child?Financial Barriers
“Developing joint working with external agencies was the biggest
barrier to delivering family focused support.” (Family & Young Carer
Pathfinder Evaluation)
Struggled to access other agency support Other agencies
not attending TAF Meetings
Unable to access information on
families
Unable to identify families early
Barrier existed for three reasons…
How Barriers Have Been Overcome at the Strategic Level
Joint Commissioning
Joint Working Protocols
Commissioning Frameworks
Integrated Training
Partnership Working
Facilitators to Strategic Change
Effective Leadership & Governance
Political Support & Strategic Backing
Clear Aims, Objectives
& Roadmap
Strong Engagement from
Other Agencies
Regular Monitoring, Evaluatio
n & Feedback
Conclusion
“The evidence from this three year study presents a compellingcase for LAs and their partners to develop and implementintensive family support for families with multiple complexneeds…”
But…
“…The scale of change required to deliver intensive familyfocused support cannot be underestimated by localauthorities and their partners. Areas wishing to embed afamily focused approach must therefore be fully committed tothe agenda and must recognise that significant investment incultural and operational changes are required for it to be fullyeffective.”
Resources
• Evaluation of Family and Young Carer Pathfinders: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-RR154
• Good practice in delivering whole family work with young carer families: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/RSG/AllRsgPublications/Page20/DFE-RR084
• Good practice in developing whole family assessments: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/RSG/Childrenandfamilies/Page8/DFE-RR045
• Evaluation of the Innovation Fund: Developing Whole Family Approaches to Supporting Young Carers within the Voluntary Sector: Forthcoming
• For further questions: [email protected]