06.01.20
Up to £165m in funding announced for Troubled Families
Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP announced yesterday (Jan 5) that a funding pot of up to £165m will be made available to support families with deep rooted problems.
Intensive support for some of the most vulnerable families in the country will be provided by the Troubled Families programme following a new financial boost.
A successful track record has shown that the programme has helped and will continue to help to rebuild family life through local services, with a focus on early intervention.
Complex issues such as unemployment, poor school attendance, mental health issues, anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse will be key areas of focus for the programme, giving the family unit a chance to get their lives on track.
Robert Jenrick MP said:
“The Troubled Families programme will help more people in need get access to the early, practical and coordinated support to transform their lives for the better.
“This is the right thing to do for families and for society as a whole, and these reforms will reduce the demand and dependency on costly, reactive key public services.
“We want to build on the success of the programme in the coming year, delivering on our manifesto commitment to ensure we reach all those who could benefit from the programme – from the early years and throughout their lives.”
The investment will be spent on assigned Troubled Families keyworkers, who can engage with the whole family, coordinating support from a variety of services and get to the root of the issue as early as possible instead of simply reacting to a crisis.
Evaluation results, comparing families with similar characteristics who have not been on the programme, show that after 19-24 months of receiving support, the number of children going into care was reduced by a third.
The study also revealed that the proportion of adults on the programme going to prison reduced by a quarter and juvenile convictions were reduced by 15%.
It also led to 10% fewer people claiming Jobseekers Allowance, by supporting people on the programme back into work.
297,733 families have benefitted from the programme since it began in 2015.