Tackling the issues around troubled families

Louise Casey’s report, Listening to Troubled Families, has generated quite a bit of media attention.

She made her views clear: a persistent, consistent, determined, honest and direct approach can make a difference to the lives of all 120,000 troubled families in the UK, many of whom are trapped in a cycle of abuse and violence that costs the country £9bn a year.

The government has budgeted £448m over the next three years to tackle the problem. But who are these families? And how can authorities ensure they deliver services that will turn their lives around?

Authorities have been given a figure for the estimated number of troubled families in their area and they have been asked to use their data to identify them.

To be classed as ‘troubled’, families will have been involved in crime or anti-social behaviour, have children who have been excluded or are truanting from school and family members receiving out-of-work benefits.

Authorities can also add local filters to identify those they want to work with, such as families with a Child Protection Plan in place and those subject to frequent police call-outs or arrest.

Every local authority will receive up to £4,000 per eligible family. In the first year, 80 per cent of this will be provided upfront and 20 per cent as a results-based payment. The level of funding available in advance will fall in years two and three. In order to get this money, authorities will be expected to show how many families have received assistance and provide evidence that they have successfully reduced truancy, youth crime, anti-social behaviour and encouraged parents back into work.

This makes it crucial for councils to put a bespoke plan of action in place and track these troubled families to ensure their needs are being met. It also heightens the need to ensure all those working with these families have a central means of recording their interactions and that disparate teams can access the same information with relative ease.

Being able to demonstrate positive outcomes for families serves a dual purpose. It not only ensures the receipt of crucial funding, but more importantly, it will help improve the lives of a generation at risk of being condemned to a bleak and deprived future.  

As Louise Casey acknowledges, tackling the issues around troubled families is far from simple. But authorities must do all they can to reverse their plight. For the sake of future generations, failure is not an option.