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Troubleshooters to be sent in to help problem families Troubleshooters to be sent in to help problem families
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David Cameron is to announce a £448m plan to identify and get help to the most troubled families in England. David Cameron is outlining plans for a network of "troubleshooters" to give more focused support to England's most troubled families.
A network of "troubleshooters" will be given responsibility for locating and co-ordinating help for families facing multiple challenges such as addiction, crime, poor health and unemployment. The PM says many will get targeted support with their own family worker - rather than dealing with a "string of well-meaning, disconnected officials".
Mr Cameron will call for "leadership at the top, action in councils and results on the ground" to tackle the problem. He has promised to turn around the lives of 120,000 families by 2015.
The government wants to turn around the lives of 120,000 families by 2015. But Labour said ministers had cut back Family Intervention Projects and work councils had been doing on the issue.
The prime minister made the pledge in the aftermath of this summer's riots across England and he will return to the issue in a speech in Birmingham, fleshing out details of the government's strategy. Under the government's measure, families need to meet five out of seven criteria, including truanting children, parents with addiction and anti-social behaviour, to be classified as "troubled".
Mr Cameron will announce funding for a group of troubleshooters, to be hired by councils and who will report progress to Louise Casey, the newly appointed head of the Troubled Families Team. 'Ruining their lives'
The money for the initiative is being taken from other government budgets over a four-year period. It is diverting £448m from existing departmental budgets over four years to pay for a network of people who will identify families in need of help, make sure they get access to the right services and that action is taken.
'Work wonders' They will be hired by local councils and will report progress to Louise Casey, the newly appointed head of the Troubled Families Team.
BBC political correspondent Carole Walker said local authorities would decide who was best placed to act as the troubleshooter - so it could be a local charity or a private firm bidding for the role, and would be paid by results.
Families who refused to cooperate could face benefit sanctions or eviction - but Downing Street says the vast majority want help with their problems.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles told the BBC while it was "conventional wisdom" that many of these families would refuse help "what we have found is where a number of leading authorities have been able to bring the different agencies together, they were able to confront these families, they weren't able to dodge between the different agencies and we were able to be frank with them that they were ruining their lives".
Mr Cameron is delivering a speech in Birmingham calling for "leadership at the top, action in councils and results on the ground".
Ministers are modelling their strategy on the family intervention project adopted by the last Labour government in which a single social worker is sent in to gain an overview of the problems facing a family and to recommend the best course of action.Ministers are modelling their strategy on the family intervention project adopted by the last Labour government in which a single social worker is sent in to gain an overview of the problems facing a family and to recommend the best course of action.
The prime minister will say this intensive approach can "work wonders" for families but social workers need help to get a foot in the door in the first place. The prime minister said this intensive approach could "work wonders" and troubleshooters would "see the family as a whole and get a plan of action together, agreed with the family".
As well as locating families in need of special help, the troubleshooters will ensure appropriate action is taken, organise local agency responses and liaise with officials at a national level.
Making the case for the initiative, Mr Cameron will cite the case of a family blighted by problems whose behaviour was "transformed" after a mother acknowledged the scale of her difficulties and was able to get dedicated support.
"When the front door opens and the worker goes in, they will see the family as a whole and get a plan of action together, agreed with the family," he will say.
"This will often be basic, practical things that are the building blocks of an orderly home and a responsible life. These things do not always cost a lot but they make all the difference.""This will often be basic, practical things that are the building blocks of an orderly home and a responsible life. These things do not always cost a lot but they make all the difference."
Mr Cameron will "demand results" from councils in return for the extra cash and say troubleshooters will be paid by results - success determined by whether levels of crime and truancy fall in targeted areas. "And they will get on top of the services, sorting out - and sometimes fending off - the 28 or more different state services that come calling at the door. Not a string of well-meaning, disconnected officials who end up treating the symptoms and not the causes but a clear hard-headed recognition of how the family is going wrong - and what the family members themselves can do to take responsibility."
He is expected to reiterate his belief that supporting families must be at the heart of dealing with the UK's social problems, arguing "we need to provide leadership at the top, action in local authorities and results on the ground". 'Incredibly effective'
Definition Dame Clare Tickell, chief executive of the charity Action for Children which works with troubled families, welcomed the "renewed focus" on the issue and said in her experience, a lot of the families were "delighted" to have help sorting out their problems.
Ministers say families suffering problems such as drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, poverty and anti-social behaviour, are costing the state an estimated £9bn a year in terms of spending on the NHS, the police and social services. "Sometimes they can feel overwhelmed by the number of different agencies who are talking to them and the number of problems that they have. If you can get alongside them - and the voluntary sector is particularly good at doing that - and help them to work out solutions to their own problems, in a co-ordinated way, that can be incredibly effective."
While the definition and number of troubled families has never been confirmed, a report last year by "family champion" Emma Harrison suggested there were 125,000 families which had never worked and from whom a lot of social problems stem. Ministers say troubled families are costing the state an estimated £9bn a year in terms of spending on the NHS, the police and social services.
Under the government's measure, families need to meet five out of seven criteria based on social, economic and health problems to be classified as "troubled". Most support for families is now provided through local authorities, although sometimes contracted out to other organisations. However funding for early intervention grants has been cut by more than 10%.
Most support for families with multiple problems is now provided through local authorities, although sometimes contracted out to other organisations. However funding for early intervention grants has been cut by more than 10%. Barnardo's chief executive Anne Marie Carrie said the voluntary sector had an important role to play in helping families - particularly as they were often seen as less stigmatising.
Speaking on Wednesday, Labour leader Ed Miliband said there was a place for initiatives like family intervention partnerships but a "bigger response" was needed to address the social problems highlighted by this summer's unrest in cities across England. But she said: "Worryingly, 67% of Barnardo's services that have been hit hardest by local authority cuts have been those which provide family support or early intervention for children in difficulty. This means some families now have to wait until their problems are more serious before getting the help they need."
Providing educational opportunities and jobs, and encouraging responsibility at all levels of society, was central to giving hope to families and communities, he said. She urged councils and the government to involve charities in planning and delivering services.
For Labour, Gloria De Piero said there was only so much troubleshooters could do when cuts were hitting family intervention projects.
"In addition, the government has torn up Labour's total place programme, which was bringing together all of the local agencies needed to provide services to families, and saved money, setting this work back.
"This is important work but if David Cameron demands results from local authorities, whilst pulling the carpet from beneath them while reforms are being shelved, this could be a wasted opportunity to properly expand Labour's family intervention policies."