Issue - meetings
Brent Working with Families Strategy
Meeting: 14/01/2013 - Executive (Item 11)
11 Brent Working with Families Strategy PDF 297 KB
The Working with Families project aims to fundamentally improve the way that Brent Council and its partners identify and deliver services to the borough’s most vulnerable families. Underpinned by the national Troubled Families Programme, the project recognises that families and agencies can realise significant benefits from changing the way that services are delivered to families with complex needs. These benefits can only be achieved as a result of a whole systems change, a significant shift in attitude and approach, including a shift to a family focus, and genuine partnership working across agencies.
Decision:
(i) that the Working with Families Strategy, set out at in Appendix 1 of the report from the Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement be endorsed;
(ii) that the high level action plan in Appendix 2 to the Director’s report be noted.
Minutes:
The Working with Families project aimed to fundamentally improve the way that Brent Council and its partners identified and delivered services to the borough’s most vulnerable families. Underpinned by the national Troubled Families Programme, the project recognised that families and agencies could realise significant benefits from changing the way that services were delivered to families with complex needs. It was felt that benefits can only be achieved as a result of a whole systems change, a significant shift in attitude and approach, including a shift to a family focus, and genuine partnership working across agencies.
Councillor Arnold (Lead Member, Children and Families) outlined the background and objectives of the project and stressed the importance of the coordinated approach that would be provided through a multi agency safe-guarding hub, a family support service and an aligned services strategy designed to impove a wider range of support services across services and partners. 25-30 key workers would be employed to work with families. The aim was to use mainstream funding together with funding from central government and, by targeting funding at early help services, to reduce costs to the council and partner agencies. The project was in its early stages and would be closely monitored and Councillor Arnold urged members to endorse the strategy and action plan.
RESOLVED:
(i) that the Working with Families Strategy, set out at in Appendix 1 of the report from the Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement be endorsed;
(ii) that the high level action plan in Appendix 2 to the Director’s report be noted.