Family Focus Manager’s Development Event

Quayside Exchange

March 10th 2014

WELCOME

What is the Sunderland way of doing things?

• Asset based approach building on the 5 areas of the city – strengthening community assets

• Prevention and Early intervention - actively seeking to identify and tackle issues before they get worse

• Promoting independence and self care – enabling individuals to make effective choices for themselves and their families

• Joint Working – shaping and managing cost effective interventions through integrated services

• We know that early i

WHY IS THE AGENDA IMPORTANT?

WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE?

• Staff skilled enough to cope with change

• Redesigning services

• Prevent the troubled families of the future too

• We need to be working with, not just for families

• Having one key worker is often the best option

The Building Blocks to make it happen ….

The potential to lead and support change for children, families and communities

WORKING WITH FAMILIES WITH MULTIPLE

AND COMPLEX NEEDS

Sarah Reed

Sandra Mitchell

Family Focus

• ‘Troubled Families’ programme launched by the Prime Minister in December 2011

• Troubled families are those families that are:– Involved in crime and anti-social behaviour– Have children not in school– Have an adult on out of work benefits– Cause high cost to the public purse

• 120,000 families - £75k per family per year

• Estimated that £9bn per year is spent on 120,000 families nationally with only £1bn on preventative services

Family Focus

• Sunderland was identified as having 805 ‘troubled’ families – estimated cost of £60,375,000

• Up to 28 services are engaged with members of one family - often uncoordinated; separate interactions; assessments; funding streams

• Not addressing the root cause of the problems

• In Sunderland renamed and branded ‘Family Focus’

• Required to identify our 805 families locally using 4 criteria – have to meet 3 criteria to be eligible

DCLG Criteria

• Criterion 1 - Young people involved in crime and families involved in anti-social behaviour

– Families with one or more under 18 year old with a proven offence in the last 12 months

and/or– Families where one or more member has been committing

anti-social behaviour (has ASBO, ASB Injunction, ASB contract; housing related intervention such as eviction)

and/or– Households where there have been what you consider to be

local comparable measures, interventions or incidents of anti-social behaviour such as repeat call outs from the Police and/or ASB Team and/or a significant agency.

DCLG Criteria• Criterion 2 - Households affected by truancy or

school exclusion

– Has been subject to permanent exclusion; three or more fixed school exclusions across the last 3 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 3 consecutive term

– Exclusion/attendance problems of equivalent concern to the criteria above may also be included, for example, authorised absence may be taken into account where there is a comparable attendance problem

DCLG Criteria

Criterion 3 - Households which have an adult on DWP out of work benefits including Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit; Carer’s Allowance, Income Support and/or Job Seekers Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance.

• Family has to have met either criterion one or two before you can check with DWP whether they meet this criterion

• Family has to meet at least 3 criteria so if meet two of the above need to also meet a local discretion criteria to be eligible

Sunderland Local Discretion CriteriaCriterion 4 - Local Discretion filters – can be used to

add in other families who meet 2 of the 3 criteria above and/or are a cause for concern:

– Substance Misuse (young people and adults)– Domestic Abuse– Child Protection Issues– Homelessness– Mental Health (young people and adults)– Adult Offending– NEET Young People– Family in a high cost service– Family live in bottom 20% areas of deprivation

Family Focus

• Sunderland has to meet stated outcomes with at least 805 eligible families over the lifetime of Family Focus (by May 2015)

• Aim of Family Focus is to provide targeted, tailored support to ‘turn around’ the lives of the 805 families

• What does ‘turn around’ mean?

• What does success look like?

Family Focus

• Success measured by achieving stated outcomes around:

– Getting children back into school– Reducing criminal and anti-social behaviour– Getting parents on the road back into work– Reducing the costs to the taxpayer and local

authorities

Family Focus Outcomes

“Turn around” =

• Each child in the family has had fewer than 3 fixed exclusions and less than 15% unauthorised absences in the last 3 terms

• 60% reduction in ASB across the family in the last 6 months

• 33% reduction in offending by all minors in the family in the last 6 months

• One adult in the family has moved off out-of work benefits into continuous employment in the last 6 months

Family Focus Payment by Results

• Payment by results based on 40% of the cost of intervention - £4,000 per family

• Initiative seen as an opportunity to review and improve the way partners work with the most challenging and vulnerable families across the city

• Aim of Family Focus is to stop uncoordinated interventions and provide a more integrated approach

• Not extra resources but managing existing resources differently – developed a new way of working with families with multiple and complex needs

• Evidence based – best practice, family consultation etc

Strengthening Families Framework

Family Focus Way of Working: Key Stages

• Stage 1: Identification of the family (agency referrals and analysis of datasets)

• Stage 2: Multi-Agency Strengthening Families Panels• Stage 3: Family engagement and need assessed by

the key worker• Stage 4: Development of the Family Agreement• Stage 5: Delivery of a flexible package of targeted, co-

ordinated support for the family• Stage 6: Family review, tracking and monitoring

arrangements

Family Focus Delivery Model

• Strengthening Families Panels (building on the existing CAF Panels) in each locality since 1st March 2013

• Single point of contact with the family through one key worker

• Single review of need using the Family Wheel

• Single Family Agreement developed with the family (two way pledge)

• Targeted, co-ordinated, flexible packages of support for each family based on their needs

• Regular progress reviews of family outcomes

• Use of Capita One

Strengthening Families Panels• Locality based model – 5 panels meet weekly• Additional partners – Police, Housing, Job Centre

Plus, Probation• Families come to Panel through identification

centrally or agency referrals (form)• Intelligence sheet completed by all agencies (form)• Family discussed – level of need identified - lead

agency appointed – allocate a key worker• Team around the Family (TAF)• Family tracked and monitored – outcomes achieved

Way of Working: Five Family Intervention (FIP) Factors

1. A dedicated worker, dedicated to a family

2. Practical ‘hands on’ support

3. A persistent, assertive and challenging approach

4. Considering the family as a whole – gathering the intelligence

5. Common purpose and agreed action

Average Length of Intervention with Family

• Level 1 – 7 months

• Level 2 – 8 months

• Level 3 – 11 months

Responsibilities for Managers:• Identifying Families at source in key relevant agencies and

services? Do you know how to refer a family?

• Have you/your key/support workers attended Family Focus model training session; completed e-learning? Do you understand the way of working?

• 5 Family Intervention Factors –are your key workers working in this way?

• Have you completed the Strengthening Families Competency Framework? Do you have any training needs?

• Supervision – are you reviewing caseloads – providing support in moving families on?

Next Steps for Managers

• Understand your risks, responsibilities, accountabilities?

• Understand the Family Focus Model – Toolkit, E-learning module; 5 family intervention factors; length of intervention?

• Agency referral - are you reviewing every new referral in relevant teams/services?

• Appropriate attendance at Strengthening Families Panels?

• Appropriately skilled Family Focus Workforce – competency framework – identify training needs of managers and key/support workers?

Family Focus - Further Information

Further information on Family Focus:

• Family Focus e-learning module• Family Focus Model Toolkit• Family Focus Family Wheel• Strengthening Families Referral Form

available at www.sunderlandpartnership.org.uk by the end of March 2013

QUESTIONS?

Family Focus Financial Profile

Year Number of families to be worked with and ‘turned

around’

Number of families that PBR can be claimed for(1 in 6 rule)

Attachment Fee

£

Total claim if targets met (@ £4k per

family)£

Year 1:2012/13

268(35%)

223 £713,600 £892,000

Year 2:2013/14

416(50%)

347 £832,800 £1,388,000

Year 3:2014/15

121(15%)

101 £161,600 £404,000

TOTAL 805 671 £1,708,000 £2,684,000

Family Focus Progress

9/12 12/12 3/13 6/13 9/13 12/13 3/14

Number of FF families

identified that meet the criteria

1018 1018 1018 1072 1224 815 _

Number of FF families

‘Working With’

82 82 279 335 487 541 700+

Payment by Results Claims

1/13 4/13 7/13 10/13 2/14

Number of families claimed for (PBR)

0 0 72 32 134

Total (cumulative)

0 0 72 104 238