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April 2013
Director General of Troubled Families Unit visits Lincolnshire
Louise Casey CB, Director General of the Troubled Families Unit in Whitehall, visited Families Working Together on April 15 2013 to see for herself the progress Lincolnshire is making in tackling the Troubled Families agenda.
During her visit, Ms. Casey met with the Leader of the Council, Cllr Martin Hill, the Executive Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services, Cllr Patricia Bradwell, and the Chief Executive of Lincolnshire County Council, as well as many of the partners involved in the project including the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police, the Director of Public Health, the Director for Communities and Localism at West Lindsey District Council and a representative of the voluntary sector. In addition, she also met with frontline staff to hear firsthand of the some of the work the project is doing and the results it is achieving.
After her visit to see Families Working Together, speaking on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Ms. Casey said:
“The critical question is ‘Do they have the right leadership? Are they determined? And do I think, now, they’ve got the right people in place to tackle the problem? The answer to those questions is ‘Yes’. And I expect to see a massive shift in momentum in the next few months.”
Tony McArdle, Chief Executive of Lincolnshire County Council, added: “It’s good to see Lincolnshire being recognised in this way. Families with complex needs have been supported to enjoy a much better quality of life, with improvements to their health, employment and educational prospects.”
February 2013
Spotlight on Lincolnshire at National Conference
Lincolnshire’s Troubled Families Co-Ordinator, the Chief Executive of Lincolnshire County Council and Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable delivered a presentation on the partnership approach and success of Families Working Together at the Local Government Association National Conference on Troubled Families on 23 January 2013. The audience included Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles, and the Director General for Troubled Families, Louise Casey CB.
You can see the presentation and full list of other speakers by following this link: http://www.local.gov.uk/web/guest/past-event-presentations/-/journal_content/56/10171/3851807/ARTICLE-TEMPLATE
The cost of Troubled Families
On the same day, the Department for Communities and Local Government released a publication on The Cost of Troubled Families. The report makes the case for all local agencies to examine what they spend on troubled families, how they spend it, and how effective that expenditure is in turning lives around and preventing the emergence of future troubled families.
You can find the report in the Downloads section.
December 2012
The Government’s Troubled Families Unit has published a guide to evidence and good practice on working with Troubled Families. And the report clearly resonates with the nature of the work already being done in Lincolnshire by the Families Working Together team.
The guide identifies five key features that underpin successful intervention when working with troubled families:
- A dedicated worker, dedicated to a family
- Practical ‘hands on’ support
- A persistent, assertive and challenging approach
- Considering the family as a whole – gathering the intelligence
- Common purpose and agreed action
All of these are already embedded in the Families Working Together approach and have helped us achieve successful outcomes with families over the last 18 months.
You can view the published guide in the downloads section.
