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Think Family Handbook v1 July 2014 © Birmingham City Council

Think Family Birmingham

Handbook for Professionals

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Think Family Handbook v1 July 2014 2 of 35 © Birmingham City Council

Contents Page

Introduction

1. Concept 5

What is Think Family?

What defines a Think Family?

How does Think Family work in Birmingham?

2. Working with a Think Family 9

If you are the lead professional

Key principles of working with families

3. Issues to consider when working with families 12

What is a family?

Approaches to securing family engagement

Partnership Model and Professional Boundaries

4. Key features of effective intervention 15

Five key stages to intervention

What is an objective?

Using a range of sanctions and rewards

Record Keeping

Family Budgets

5. Supporting families towards work 27

6. Domestic Violence 30

MARAC

Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs)

Whole Family Working

7. Multi-agency working 33

Building Trust and Partnership

Multi-agency review meetings

Supervision

Reflective Practice

8. What is an outcome for Payment by Results (PbR)? 35


Appendices TF Criteria (pdf)

TF ID and Referral Form (Word – password protected – THINKFAMILY)

TF Engagement and Sanctions Process (pdf)

What’s on Offer Family Leaflet (pdf)

What’s on Offer DWP Work Coaches (pdf)

What’s on Offer Fire Service (pdf)

What’s on Offer Fire Service HSC Referral Form (Word)

What’s on Offer IFS Dec 2014-15 (pdf)

What’s on Offer MST Guide (pdf)


Introduction

This handbook has been compiled for all professionals involved in the Think Family programme. The purpose of this handbook is to ensure that all professionals are aware of the key principles of the national Troubled Families agenda; how it is being adopted in Birmingham and to ensure consistency of practice across the city. Further supporting materials are available as follows: -

1. ‘What’s On Offer’ Pack comprising: -

Think Family Criteria

Referral Form template

Engagement and Sanctions Process

Leaflet for Families

DWP Work Coaches offer

West Midlands Fire Service offer

Intensive Family Support (IFS) Briefing

Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST) Guide

Please refer to the appendices for copies of these materials (correct at end May 2014). These

resources are updated from time to time. Ensure you have the most recent version by

checking www.birmingham.gov.uk/think-family

2. Family Budgets (Barriers Funding) Guidance for Managers

3. Family Budgets Guidance for Pack for FSS, YOS, Local Services, IFS and Probation comprising: -

Family Budgets Briefing

Family Budgets Process Flowchart

Family Budgets Approved and Prohibited Expenditure

Family Budgets Allocation Form

Family Budgets Process Price List and Templates for ordering from The Furniture Service

4. Think Family on the internet

The resources referenced in points one and three above can be found on: -

www.birmingham.gov.uk/think-family

Birmingham City Council employees using a BCC networked computer can also visit: -

inline.birmingham.gov.uk/thinkfamily

Family Budgets (Barriers Funding) resources are not available online because they have been

tailored to the individual arrangements of several different service areas with access to the

fund. Therefore, please liaise with your Line Manager for specific information relating to your

service.

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/think-family

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/think-family


1. Concept

What is Think Family?

Think Family is Birmingham City Council's name for the national Troubled Families initiative, which is funded and coordinated by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). This initiative aims to turn around the lives of 120,000 families in the UK, of which it is estimated that 4,180 families live in Birmingham. These families are characterised by there being no adult working in the family, children not being in school and family members being involved in crime or anti-social behaviour. Think Family is about working better with families with multiple needs, enabling them to achieve long term change which benefits them, the communities they live in and Birmingham as a whole. To be a Think Family, the family needs to fit criteria detailed by DCLG guidance (but augmented by local discretionary criteria). Once a family is assigned a Think Family number it triggers two types of additional funding from DCLG; an 'attachment fee' which is paid up front and a results-based payment which is only triggered once the prescribed success outcome has been achieved.

What defines a Think Family? Families have to meet three of four criteria to be eligible for support or outcome payment as a Think Family. There are three national criteria outlined by the DCLG for identifying a Think Family and an additional local criterion that recognises the priorities within areas. For more information, see 'What is an Outcome for Payment by Results?’ The three national criteria are:

1. Crime and anti-social behaviour

Households with one or more under 18 year-old with a proven offence in the last 12 months;

AND/ OR

Households where one or more member has an anti-social behaviour order, anti-social behaviour injunction, anti-social behaviour contract, or where the family has been subject to a housing-related anti-social behaviour intervention in the last 12 months (such as a notice of seeking possession on anti-social behaviour grounds, a housing-related injunction, a demotion order, eviction from social housing on ASB grounds).

2. Education

Households affected by truancy or exclusion from school, where a child:

Has been subject to permanent exclusion; three or more fixed school exclusions across the last three consecutive terms; OR

Is in a Pupil Referral Unit or alternative provision because they have previously been excluded; OR is not on a school roll; AND/OR

A child has had 15% unauthorised absences or more from school across the last three consecutive terms.


Equivalent Concerns

In some instances, the referral does not meet the attendance criteria described above. However,

there may be instances where the school can demonstrate an ‘equivalent level of concern’ as indicated below:-

i. Evidence of a pattern of poor attendance that gives the Head Teacher a prominent and developing concern. This can include where school staff enable attendance by transporting children to and from school.

ii. The child has been subject to permanent exclusion or three or more fixed school exclusions.

iii. The child has been placed in specialist provision within a mainstream school for the purposes of improving behaviour, which is comparable to the use of alternative provision.

3. Work

Households which have an adult on any of the following Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) out of work benefits:-

Jobseekers Allowance

Employment Support Allowance

Carers Allowance

Income Support

Lone Parent Income Support

Severe Disablement Allowance

Families who meet all of criteria one to three will automatically be included in the programme.

4. Local criteria

Additional families will be identified using a local criterion which, in Birmingham, is Low Parental Capacity.

Low Parental Capacity has been chosen as the local indicator to take account of a number of risk factors known to negatively impact on a parent’s ability to provide a secure, supportive and healthy environment in which children can thrive. These factors have been identified through CAF and fCAF practice, research, and the professional judgment of staff. The Low Parental Capacity indicator is triggered when at least one of these risk indicators is present within the family:-

Child Protection Plan in place, open child social care case, or family with two or more episodes of child social care involvement in the last three years.

Child or Young Person at risk of entering Care.

Family includes a child at risk of sexual exploitation or engaging in sexually harmful behaviour.

Domestic abuse is taking place within the family.

Family is homeless.


Family member is affiliated to a gang or clearly under its influence.

Family member has substance misuse problems (predominantly drug or alcohol problems).

Family member (adult or child) present mental health issues.

Family is likely to be severely affected by welfare reform changes.

Family includes an adult classified as being at medium to high risk of re-offending.

Family member is believed to have been influenced by violent extremism.

Parents have indicated or demonstrated that they are struggling to parent and/or enforce rules and boundaries.

A child who has an Education Health Care (EHC) plan, SEN statement, School Action, Action Plus or IEP intervention, where there are behavioural, emotional and social development needs.

Family includes a child eligible for free school meals but where DWP has not identified an adult on out of work benefits.

Enforcement agencies such as Police, Housing Officers and Community Safety Teams have attended the household as a result of complaints or ASB (including incidents related to noise, domestic violence or neighbour disputes) more than once in the last 12 months.

In addition, for families where there is not yet sufficient data available to confirm if any of the above risk factors are present, a proxy measure has been used of families living in one of the 5% most deprived areas in the country.

How does Think Family work in Birmingham?

Think Family looks at all the issues facing a family and takes a 'project management' approach to achieving outcomes from all the services working with the family. To achieve this, anyone who is working with any family member becomes part of the Think Family team for that family. That means they have to communicate with each other and coordinate their interventions so that there is reduced risk of duplication, increased opportunity to achieve successful outcomes and a family that has less need for service input. A key feature of troubled families is that they have a long list of people who are working with them, often over many years; but, there is no one person to help them take control of their lives and no one person who fully understands all the issues they face and all the support they need. By taking a Think Family approach, the family gets a lead professional, a 'project manager' who really understands them as a family and who can both coordinate sources of help and offer some of the straight forward and practical help that can support them to turn their lives around. It also means that Birmingham acts as one city and from the family’s perspective, is a much less complex and more efficient partner for them.


There are two types of Think Family worker - the lead professional (the 'project manager') and the support workers (all other professionals working with the family). Depending on whether you are a lead professional or a support worker you will have different responsibilities in achieving all the outcomes for that family. The main services which are responsible for coordinating and sharing their outcomes as part of Think Family are:-

Family Support Teams

Youth Offending Teams

Safer Communities/ Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) / Housing teams (Local Services)

DWP/Job Centre Plus

Intensive Family support providers


2. Working with a Think Family

If you are the lead professional

The lead professional is the pivotal role to the success of the Think Family approach. That person, as well as leading the work of their service with a family, also takes responsibility for coordinating all the other services that are working with all family members. In effect, this role is like an architect who holds the vision for the end result and manages and coordinates all the sub-contractors. It is this person who holds the ring on all the outcomes for the family, makes connections with all the services working with that family and ensures that all interventions are as effective as possible. While it is a whole family model, it is the impact on the child that needs to be at the forefront of our minds and the assessment of other family members should be done in the context of impact on the child. Whole family working does not mean you have to work with all the family members at the same time. Where there has been violence or abuse in the family, consideration of welfare takes precedence but each member of the family should still have a support plan and be part of the whole family, multi-agency discussions. For example, if the father is the perpetrator of Domestic Violence there would not be a whole family discussion. It is important to recognise risks and vulnerabilities within the family, ensuring that you do not share information about Domestic Violence in the whole family setting. For more information, please see Section 6 - Domestic Violence. All families who are classified as Think Family will be given a lead professional. You will know when you are assigned this role. In this role you will be required to:-

Act as the first point of contact for the family – planning that contact flexibly to meet the family’s needs.

Build a relationship with each family member based on trust and respect, modelling effective communication and persistent support.

Coordinate the multi-agency team around the family to participate in putting together a plan with the family that identifies actions for the specific Think Family outcomes (worklessness, offending, ASB, education and low parental capacity). The outcomes will be clearly identified because of the criteria they met to be assigned a Think Family number. The plan for addressing these outcomes should be seen at every stage of the process like a ‘golden thread’.

Coordinate risk and vulnerability assessments and actions and escalate concerns where necessary.

Clearly outline the sanctions and rewards that are associated with each goal.

Work with the family to support and challenge them towards reaching the support plan goals.

Advocate for the family with other agencies.

Regularly review progress and address barriers to progress in partnership with the multi-agency team.


Support the family to use universal services effectively, gradually reducing the intensity of involvement as the family functioning strengthens.

Plan an exit with the family, ensuring ongoing support from relevant services (as necessary) and build in post intervention contact.

The role of lead professional is over and above that of your service related work with the family and you will ultimately be accountable for ALL the outcomes attached to that family. However, this is a coordination role and as the family's lead professional you will be responsible for achieving outcomes through the effective deployment of all the resources available to them.

If you are not the lead professional but are working with a Think Family:-

Any service provider who is working with a family classified as Think Family (i.e. assigned a Think Family reference number) becomes part of the 'project team' for that family. As a member of the team you will need to be aware of all the other services working with that family, ensuring that your input is coordinated, complimentary, and not at odds with other service inputs to achieve maximum effectiveness. The lead professional will be your main point of contact for understanding the full range of services working with the family and they will work with you and the family to achieve all agreed outcomes. This way of working means that you will continue to provide the support your service is set up to deliver. However, it will also provide you with greater resources as there will be synergies and overlaps with other services working with the family.

Key principles of working with families

The primary consideration in all work with families must be the safeguarding of children and young people. Where domestic abuse is prevalent or there is violence within the family (i.e. towards parent) a whole family assessment and partnership working would not be appropriate and therefore a different approach is required.

Family intervention utilises a persistent, supportive and respectful approach in working with families which necessitates small caseloads, creative approaches and a clear strategy for using incentives and sanctions to bring about positive change. The approach is based around a process of strength based whole family assessment.

Workers need to work respectfully and in partnership with families at all times, encouraging self-efficacy and autonomy.

Work with families should value and build on their existing strengths, knowledge and experience.

Those in a parenting role are acknowledged as having unique knowledge and information about their children and are the primary influence on their child’s development. Children are the responsibility of, and make a positive contribution to the wider society as well as their families.


Family interventions should place the interests of children and young people at the heart of the work. Workers should be committed to working with parents and families so that children and young people have the chance to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and experience economic well-being. Family intervention should aim to offer a range of appropriate support according to both child and parent levels of need, utilising whole family assessment.

Family intervention utilises effective working partnerships with agencies and individuals in providing support to parents and families. Integrated working and the sharing of approaches across services is a central element of the lead professional role.

Lead professionals should be committed to engaging children, parents and families fully in identifying goals, assessing options, making decisions and reviewing outcomes. They should support child and family involvement in the development and evaluation of services.

Respect for difference and the promotion of equality are of fundamental importance to work with families. Discriminatory behaviour of individuals, families, groups and agencies must be challenged.

Those working with families should have specific training, qualifications, support and expertise appropriate to the work they are undertaking.

The lead professional and managers should recognise where more intensive support is required to achieve outcomes and facilitate a referral to an appropriate provider.

Good practice requires reflection, regular and appropriate supervision and support as well as a continuing search for improvement.

Family intervention should use evidence based approaches where possible to encourage and achieve good outcomes.

Think Family interventions require innovation and creativity to address need.


3. Issues to consider when working with families

What is a family?

Family means different things to people. For this work, family is defined by the family itself and includes:-

Involuntary relationships (you don’t get to choose your biological parents)

Voluntary relationships (your choice)

“...the unit that exists around the child(ren) where an adult assumes a parental role and extended relations contribute to the dynamics and functioning of the unit, whether biological or co-habiting, or not.” From, definitions, Family Intervention Key Worker functional map, DfE/CWDC

Approaches to securing family engagement

How to tell a family they are Think Family

The lead professional may already have a working relationship with at least one member of the family through their existing work and this should be the starting point for first contact rather than cold calling or sending a letter. Engaging the family with the Think Family programme is about offering them additional support for identified needs and not about labelling them as ‘troubled’. If, as a lead professional you don’t already have a working relationship with one or more members of the family, you should liaise with the support workers who do and seek to identify an appropriate route to engagement. For example, this may include a joint visit with a professional who is already involved with the family. The approach to families should be about suggesting that they need some additional support as a family and that you can coordinate other professionals to help them and to work together. It can be helpful to offer examples such as; by having all the work coordinated there will no longer be conflict between attending appointments with several agencies (such as probation and youth offending) and benefits appointments. Practical solutions such as this may be a better incentive to accepting the support in the first instance. The Troubled Families work has been in the media and it is possible your family may ask if they have been identified as a Troubled Family. The response to this should be honest but subtle. The national Troubled Families initiative is known locally as Think Family and should be referred to as such in all contact with the family. Think Family was designed to give support to families where there have been some problems with the children at school, or anti-social behaviour in the family as well as someone being out of work. We can offer some really good support to help you make changes in your family. This will help put a stop to some of the involvement from other agencies (such as letters from housing or school; or Education Welfare Service action for low School attendance.).


When starting the programme with families there are some essential things to think about:-

Be aware of the family’s needs

Be aware of your own judgments – can you acknowledge them and put them aside?

Value each person as an individual who has strengths and needs

Being ‘alongside’ the person, in partnership, appreciating their difficulties and that they are doing the best they can.

Persistence is important and may be required when working with families. As services, traditionally we have been used to asking and then shutting the case if the family does not want support. In the Think Family way of working, there needs to be a continued approach and not taking ‘No’ for an answer.

Partnership Model and Professional Boundaries

There are three significant models of supportive working; the partnership model, the expert model and the befriending model. Please refer to the table on page 14 for further information. Traditionally the expert model has been more predominant. Think Family work moves to a new way of working where the partnership model takes precedence. Workers may occasionally need to use an expert model but if used too frequently there is a risk of alienating the client and creating dependency. Workers can be friendly, but should not use a befriending approach as this could be dangerous, and may result in risk of collusion with regard to statutory obligations.

Think Family Handbook v1 July 2014 © Birmingham City Council

The Partnership model The Expert model The Befriending model

Clients and workers actively work together, involved in gathering information and seeking solutions. Clients and workers both influence decisions on what occurs. Clients and workers value each other’s knowledge, strengths and expertise and use these in complementary ways. Clients and workers reach agreement on what they are trying to achieve and how they will resolve disagreement or conflict through careful negotiation, beginning from the position of the client. Clients and workers show mutual respect and trust; involving interest, care and awareness of each other. Clients and workers communicate clearly in ways that show openness and honesty.

The worker is assumed to be the expert with superior knowledge. The worker leads and controls the interaction. The worker structures the interaction regarding time, venue, content etc. The worker formulates the nature of the client’s problem by providing a ‘diagnosis’ and defining the outcomes. The worker elicits information to support their formulation of the problem. The worker is driven by their personal and/or agency’s agenda in formulating outcomes. The worker is not explicit about their role, their agency’s agenda or how they came about their deliberations. The client is assumed to be relatively deficient in knowledge. The client is assumed to need the expertise of the worker. The client is assumed to accept and be compliant with what is offered.

The worker engages with clients in a warm and friendly manner. The worker may be perceived as offering an invitation to friendship. There are no clear expectations of the relationship. There are no clear boundaries of the relationship. The client may think that the worker has no expertise. Less structure to work through issues. No clear start and finish. The client may feel less alone and isolated. The client may be enabled to have increased social skills. The client may sort through problems without expert intervention.


4. Key features of effective intervention

The model of intervention for Think Family has five key stages:-

i. Referral and allocation ii. Whole family assessment

iii. Planning meeting, contracts and goal setting iv. Multi-agency review meetings v. Exit strategy and closure

i. Referral

Referral to Think Family comes from two main sources:-

Data matching to identify a family who meets the criteria.

Workers’ knowledge of existing cases where the family may fit the criteria.

When a worker thinks that a family they are working with might meet the Think Family criteria, they should complete a referral form and send it to the Think Family Assessment, Quality and Support (triage) team. They will verify the information and the Data Team will assign a Think Family number if the criteria are met. In many (but not all) cases, it will be allocated back to the worker to begin the support. In some cases agreement is reached whereby the family is referred to an Intensive Family Support provider to meet the needs and complexities of the family.

Allocation

The Think Family Data Team will assign a Think Family number and advise the service that will be the lead professional for the family going forward that they have a new allocation. This will be updated on the spreadsheet and where a referral form has been completed, this will be sent on to the team. Where a referral has been submitted by an external agency such as schools, the Assessment, Quality and Support Team will communicate the outcome of the referral to them. The lead professional will make contact with the original referrer to arrange an introductory meeting. Where a referral has been unsuccessful (i.e. the Think Family criteria have not been met), the Assessment, Quality and Support Team will notify the referrer and recommend appropriate follow up action.

ii. Whole family assessment

There are various assessment forms that are being used across Birmingham and they vary as to how comprehensive they are in facilitating a whole family assessment. Whilst a single assessment form may be developed in time, currently, the focus should be on the information gathered and the principles used in obtaining the information rather than the form itself.


There are a range of tools which can be used, all of which rely upon the skills, knowledge and understanding of the lead professional to know how extensive and thorough a good enough assessment is.

The tools used when making an assessment can only be as good as the worker who is using them.

The lead professional needs to be skilled in the conversations and questions needed to uncover them.

When the initial assessment is complete, the family at the centre of the assessment and agencies involved will meet to agree that it is fit for purpose

Work could have started with the family as the assessment is taking place- it’s important to record that this is happening. This will be especially relevant for Youth Offending Teams who may already have young people on a plan prior to them being assigned a Think Family number. This will be the basis for moving forward with agreed understanding about the challenges facing the family.

A whole family assessment is the foundation for building a support plan.

Principles of whole family assessment

Whole family assessment should:-

Be done in the context of impact on the child.

Examine the interrelationships between family members and how these impact on individuals within the family (an assessment tool such as a genogram can be used to assist information gathering about complex family structures).

Explore the history of the family so that the family is able to tell their story.

Take a risk management approach to address any concerns about the safety of any family member, which would include taking specialist advice or escalating where necessary.

Bring together existing individual assessments to provide an overview of the family’s strengths, risks, relationships and needs.

Involve the whole family (together or individually worked with).

Be transparent.

Be non-discriminatory.

Involve or consult all agencies who work with the family.

Use a strengths-based approach so that strengths and protective factors are identified, as well as risks and stresses.


iii. Planning meeting, contracts and goal setting

This is a difficult arena in which to introduce goal setting as a positive life-enhancing skill that can promote change and development, but introducing goal setting to families is an important part of the lead professional’s remit. Consent is a crucial element in contributing to potential success of the plan.

Family intervention goal-setting may be imposed and presented as compulsory and there may be consequences for non-compliance because of the behaviours that have gone before for the family but families need to be empowered to be part of the goal-setting process. As the family moves through the intervention processes, it will become increasingly important for them to be able to identify for themselves what kind of support they need and where they might find it.

One of the critical parts of goal setting is thinking about what kind of support the family needs and wants and who might provide it. Within the family intervention process, the multi-agency team makes decisions about this, in consultation with the family and lead professional.

Plans where goals are recorded may be referred to as support plans or action plans in the context of family intervention. The plans all utilise recommendations from the assessment to develop a SMART plan in partnership with and agreed by the family. The Support Plan needs to be SMART:-

Provide a comprehensive overview of needs, actions and support that reflect the outcomes of the programme and the needs assessment.

Have a series of objectives that make it easy for the Think Family workers and the family to understand what needs to happen and when and be clear on who is going to do it

Give clear indications of responsibilities and timescales

Have a multi-agency and family focus with clear review timescales

Have measures which will indicate whether the intervention has been successful

Clearly outline the consequences of non-compliance or lack of progress

Be mutually monitored, reviewed and adjusted as the intervention and related support progresses.


iv. Multi-agency review meetings (see also Partnership Working)

The family should be part of the assessment of incremental achievement.

Motivation to commit to and achieve is encouraged by recognition of attainment of interim goals.

Monitoring progress ensures that all positive changes can be identified.

Without regular review, families may not be aware of their progress and achievements.

Without regular review there is no opportunity to revisit why families may not be making progress.

Goals might be revisited if they have been assessed as being too ambitious.

New or existing rewards, consequences, sanctions are set linked to the goals.

v. Exit strategy and closure

As the support plan nears completion, the lead professional will need to plan a graduated exit from the family.

There needs to be an incremental reduction in intervention from the lead professional.

Focus needs to be on monitoring progress and discussing options and strategies (rather

than ‘hands on’ help) as the family moves towards a realistic completion of their goals.

As closure approaches, a closure or exit form would be completed.

At this stage the lead professional will need to ensure that the family has foundations of

support within their local community, alternative or extended family networks.

Families are moving from the Support+++ (intervention) back into the Support++ or

Support+ circles that underpin self-reliance and independence.

These alternative methodologies of support need to be in place in order for families to go

forward.

The family is made aware that they can contact their worker if they need to after formal

support ends. This can be for up to a 12 month period.

The gradual withdrawal of support may be difficult for some families. This will have been

an important relationship that has modelled aspects of secure attachment such as

consistency, reliability, warmth, responsiveness and firm boundaries.

Some families may relapse or become angry as they anticipate ending the relationship. It

is important that lead professionals plan very carefully for disengagement and closure.

The family plan should not be closed until all of the outcomes for Think Family are met.

If there is one particular issue that is persistently unmet, the case should be discussed in supervision and then escalated to a ‘surgery’ of multi-agency professionals so that they can assist or agree closure.


What is an objective?

An objective is a step taken by a professional or family to achieve a goal. It is a specific measurable action. Remember, small step objectives can be identified as part of reaching a longer-term goal. This helps identify aims, objectives and SMART targets as part of a plan When identifying your own past and present goals – how many of these had you developed an action plan for?

Objectives should be:-

Specific and clear.

Measurable and observable.

Stated positively as accomplishments.

Designed for the family to practice active listening skills and reduce the level of arguing.

Used to increase positive reinforcement of good behaviour and reduce physical discipline.

Realistic based on resources - yours and the family’s.

Timed realistically for achievement.

Objectives should be worded clearly and should detail WHO will do WHAT, HOW and by WHEN. For example, father will enroll in vocational education programme at Birmingham College by 15 September.

Who contributes to goal setting?

The family – this includes children and young people and isn’t limited to the adult/ parent.

Referral source / other agencies.

The lead professional and support workers.

The art is in blending these together into meaningful goals and tasks that the family members and agencies are willing to work towards.


Using a range of sanctions and rewards

Our model is based on a set of principles and beliefs:

Think Family is based on the premise that parents wish to give their children the best start in life but sometimes need support in doing so.

Public agencies are mandated to act when children are not attending school; are involved in crime or anti-social behaviour and adults on working age benefits are not actively seeking work.

Parents are accountable for ensuring their child attends school and that they are not involved in crime and anti-social behaviour.

This document will refer to sanctions in the context of an Assertive Engagement framework to recognise the importance of working with families using a strengths-based approach.

Through the Birmingham Think Family approach we will support parents to achieve the best outcomes for their children and themselves, recognising that sometimes problems are complex and take time to resolve.

Think Family represents a commitment to an agreed course of action from both families and agencies in the form of a ‘contract’, the fCAF Integrated Support Plan.

Only where all efforts to engage and work with families have been exhausted and behaviours persist, will sanctions be applied to ensure better outcomes for children.

There are no new sanctions for the Think Family programme. Each lead agency has statutory responsibilities supported by a legislative framework with expectations to implement sanctions fairly and appropriately, promoting the welfare of children at all stages. Background

The national Troubled Families programme is based on the premise that where children are not attending school, are involved in crime and antisocial behaviour and where adults are not actively seeking work, a child is not getting the best start in life. As well as leading to poor outcomes for the child and potentially other family members, these behaviours have a negative impact on the school community and the community in which these families live. Public services are mandated with a range of legal sanctions to intervene where these behaviours persist.

The Birmingham Think Family approach has been formulated to support families in addressing these behaviours and offers an alternative approach to sanctions. This does, however, require the positive involvement of both families and agencies. Should the Think Family offer not be taken up, Birmingham’s approach is to follow an agreed escalation process, which may involve sanctions.

A range of sanctions exist relating to these behaviours and a critical issue was how to position existing sanctions in relation to the Think Family programme. A dedicated Sanctions Steering Group was established, representing different elements of the Troubled Families criteria, including

- Education Welfare Service on school attendance


- The Youth Offending Service in respect of Youth Crime

- Safer Communities Teams and Housing in respect of anti-social behaviour

- Legal Services in respect of anti-social behaviour

- JobCentre Plus in respect of active work benefits and welfare reform

A sanctions mapping exercise set out the escalation route, and included a focus on where discretion might exist and where Think Family offers a positive alternative pathway. This map includes new possibilities where there are multiple issues within families and a multi-agency approach is required.

Sanctions Strategy Sanctions strategies can be seen to operate on two levels; at a micro level this relates to ‘family’ sanctions strategy, developed as part of a family intervention. At a macro level, this relates to the organisational gearing required, to ensure that families are offered effective support and engagement but there is follow through on proportionate sanctions where appropriate.

Organisational Level Birmingham’s Think Family model operates within an Assertive Engagement framework which sets out clear expectations on those agencies funded by the programme and their lead professionals. This model is based on families being fully supported to engage with the programme and understanding the expectations on them to work with the lead professional to improve outcomes for their children and themselves. Responsibilities and duties are placed on organisations to ensure that frontline staff are aware of and adhere to the Think Family model as follows:

Staff training and development to ensure that Family Support Workers have skills and competencies to work with families to achieve behavioural change and improved family functioning.

Clear quality assurance systems and staff with good professional skills to judge where families are not making progress, whether the right interventions are in place.

Clear escalation, with agreed timescales, if individuals or families are refusing to engage and poor outcomes relating to crime, anti-social behaviour and poor school attendance continue.

Clear information in the form of advice and guidance to be available to both staff as well as support in respect of an escalation processes.

Family Level At a family level, a sanctions strategy sets the parameters within which effective family intervention can take place. Support services have a duty to be open and honest with families about the consequences of not addressing behaviours that negatively impact on outcomes for their children. To benefit from Think Family, families must be aware of the consequences of not taking action and must demonstrate a commitment to addressing these behaviours. Consequences relate to an escalation process, where families are not positively addressing behaviours. Therefore sanctions only apply if families do not a) fulfil their part of the agreed


contract or b) do not sign up to the Think Family contract and in both cases negative behaviours persist. Key components include: -

fCAF Integrated Support Plan to be reviewed with family and issues raised.

Case review through Team Around the Family (TAF) meetings to establish cause for non- progression and whether a more intensive support programme is appropriate.

If behaviours persist, TAF recommend enforcement of sanctions – lead professional contacts lead agency to address ongoing issues adhering to ‘business as usual’ statutory guidance.

Where families have determined not to participate in Think Family but behaviours persist, existing sanctions will apply, independently of the programme, as per current practice. A key feature of Think Family is to monitor progress where families are not taking up offers of support with automatic escalation if problems persist. At a minimum level sanctions could include withdrawal of Think Family support or at the opposite extreme, may involve prosecuting the parent where a child is not attending school or antisocial behaviour persists. In all cases it will be clearly communicated to families what actions they need to take to remove the sanction. To be effective, Think Family workers need to:-

Use a straight talking, direct and open approach to explain the severity of sanctions and

consequences.

Be skilful in communicating that they want to work collaboratively, constructively and

respectfully with the family.

Support families as they face the possibility of sanctions.

Avoid taking an unsympathetic power and control approach and seeming to threaten the

family. Families may have experienced this in the past and disengaged as a result.

To be effective, sanctions and rewards have to be used together. Rewards may include:-

A range of support provision such as therapeutic intervention.

The temporary lifting of sanctions to enable development work and change to take place.

The threat of the sanction itself is lifted.

Use of Family Budgets to unblock problems for the family.

Relationships and communication with other agencies is central to the success of intervention

in this area.


Practical Implementation

The Birmingham Think Family model adopts a non-compromising approach to achieving better outcomes for children. To embed this approach, the following points will apply:

All lead professionals will have access to the Level 4 City & Guilds working with Parents with Multiple and Complex Needs course.

The model will be premised on the use of the fCAF process as well as quality assurance systems, escalating through the Team Around the Family (TAF) integrated working model.

Think Family triage staff will match families to the appropriate provider and act as a source of ongoing advice and guidance to lead professionals.

Intensive family support provision should be utilised fully where it is assessed by professionals that this would maximise engagement and provide the right level of intensity to achieve outcomes.

Where all attempts have been exhausted to engage families onto Think Family, each lead agency will take responsibility to commence the implementation of sanctions following the Assertive Engagement and Sanctions Map. However at all stages there will be reviews to discontinue this process where families re-engage and behaviour improves.

Examples of Lead Agency enforcement options: Housing and Anti-Social Behaviour Teams Warning letter Anti-Social Behaviour Contract (ABC) Anti-Social Behaviour Order Parenting Contract Parenting Order Closure notices Injunctions Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Service Restrictions on licence Recall to custody Breach of Community Order Education Welfare Service Penalty notice Education Supervision Order Parenting Contract Education Parenting Order

Youth Offending Service Parenting Contract Parenting Order Breach of statutory order Restrictions on licence The map below outlines the engagement and sanction process that should be followed in Birmingham.


Family Budgets

As part of the funding for Think Family, there is a small amount of money available to enable barriers to be overcome. These barriers are often the relatively small things that once overcome can bring about significant change for a family. This money is to be used creatively and is part of what makes Think Family different.

Examples of use of this money might be to buy school uniform or the tidying of a garden that is causing tension with neighbours, or the hiring of a skip to clear a cluttered house.

The use of this money is designed to be quick, responsive and non-bureaucratic, with a simple audit trail to see how the money has been spent.

Guidance for Team Managers and supporting materials for FSS, YOS, Local Services and Intensive Family Support staff have been circulated separately. Please contact your manager if you have not already received this information.

Record Keeping

Record keeping is vital in protecting families, individuals, the lead professional and other workers involved. As such records should be factual, free from judgment and consistent with confidentiality and data protection policies.

The rationale for good record keeping is to:-

Ensure that family needs are met.

Ensure robust safeguarding and risk management practices.

Provide a clear history of the work done.


5. Supporting families towards work During every contact with families, you need to consider all of the Think Family outcomes and work towards them. The significant feature of this programme both financially and for the benefits of the families is worklessness. The event of a family member entering the workplace can have an important stabilising impact that can help to ensure positive long-term outcomes. Family practitioners are well-placed to guide towards this as they have already developed a relationship of trust. Where families are state-funded to carry out their everyday living, a goal of self-funding can be clarified as part of a family moving towards independence. In order to assess a client’s readiness for work the professional will need to look at the whole family dynamics as well as the individual. Link it to other assessment and planning activity with the family – a logical next step when appropriate.

When working with families:-

Stress the importance of staged progress towards employment and the need to concentrate on development opportunities appropriate to the needs and stage of the family/individual – employment opportunities are usually a little way down the line.

Multi-agency support that is available should be used – community provision, learning and training provision, job clubs, personal development and confidence development opportunities, Job Centre Plus and your bespoke and intense support to the family and individuals within.

Achieve progress through partnership, effective planning and accessing/co-ordinating additional support, as well as providing direct support in partnership with the family where possible.

There will be areas where specialist support is required, such as job seeking and application techniques. Facilitate where you can and draw in support where you need it.

Timing

Employment issues need to be mentioned at an early stage of working with a family.

Professionals can clarify that this can be an integral component of support if the family is being state-funded through benefits.

Professionals may need to support clients around pressing primary issues to stabilise family well-being before addressing preparation for the workplace.

Work readiness requires assessment.


Work readiness Work readiness is about a set of skills that are wider than employment and will impact on all outcomes. This will make it easier to address work readiness at the same time as the other outcomes. Work readiness is about:-

Self-confidence

Basic social skills

Honesty and integrity

Basic personal presentation

Reliability and time keeping

Willingness to work

Understanding of actions and consequences

Positive attitude to work

Responsibility

Self-discipline

Personal competencies

What works with worklessness

Initial comprehensive assessment of needs

Holistic approach

Raising individual motivation

Addressing self-esteem and confidence issues

Personal advisor/personal support

Individual tailored approach

Co-ordinated response

Professionals with empathy and good communication skills

A clear sense of purpose

Active outreach

An environment where clients feel comfortable

Co-ordinated multi-agency provision

Good links with local employers and a willingness to provide them with services and support

Initial focus activity may include:-

Activity to address self-esteem and confidence

Projects and activity to build work readiness (whole range)

Addressing skill levels (employability, specific skill development related to need)

Finance planning – getting ready to adjust to a work income


DWP Employment Outreach Offer

Job Centre Plus has established a team of workers to directly support families that meet the Think Family criteria. In order to achieve successful outcomes for families who are not in work and claiming out of work benefits, the lead professional will work with Job Centre Plus to create a plan for supporting families back into work. Whilst the lead professional may not be a worklessness specialist, they must establish with the family that they need to progress towards employment and getting the family ‘work ready’ is a key part of the work the lead professional will do. Further to this, Job Centre Plus will provide the following support:-

Help to maximise the household benefits income and perform a ‘benefits health check’.

Support benefit claimants in managing their responsibilities with their claim, and thereby help claimants avoid incurring sanctions to their benefit income by the Job Centre.

Help to lower benefit repayment amounts where a claimant is struggling.

Act as advocates to support Think Family to integrate with main stream DWP operations (Jobcentre Plus) and receive the support and understanding that they need.

Personalised support continues whilst the family member is in training/volunteering/work.

Offer support to access small funds to overcome barriers to work.

Ensure that the family member receives all financial support available once they take up employment (transport/work clothing/child care etc.).

Personalised, bespoke, intensive support to gain skills and move towards or achieve employability/full time work.

Holistic support in partnership with local authorities to assist the family member to overcome issues (debt/benefits/other).


6. Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence may be one of several issues involved in Think Family cases. The following principles should always be considered when working with families with Domestic Violence whether the perpetrator lives at home or not.

The safety of victims of Family Domestic Violence and their children is paramount. There needs to be ongoing assessment of the safety and protection of children and women.

Always ask yourself if your planned course of action could put somebody at further risk.

Keep yourself safe and consider the risks posed to you as you work in homes where domestic abuse is ongoing.

All forms of Domestic Violence are unacceptable. There is no acceptable cultural justification for violence. It is easy to be manipulated by perpetrators of abuse, be careful not to collude.

Providing a supportive, safe and private environment is essential.

Conduct all assessments in a private room where possible.

Do not talk to the client in the presence of the suspected perpetrator. Bear in mind that perpetrators sometimes have other family members or friends (including women) sit in on appointments to “spy” on the victim.

Be firm about excluding others whose presence could interfere with or influence the assessment. The presence of a third party can result in the client withholding information or being coerced to disclose information they would prefer not to reveal.

Be aware that young children who are present during the interview may relay information back to the perpetrator. Consider the impact of such discussions on the child/ren. It is recommended to conduct sensitive discussions whilst the child/ren are elsewhere (e.g. at nursery, school or in the care of a friend or relative). You may wish to consider accessing child care provision if it is difficult to secure time with the victim to conduct a confidential interview.

In providing family support in the aftermath of abuse; you must risk assess carefully to ensure children understand the importance of confidentiality.

Do not leave Domestic Violence resource information, letters, or voicemail messages asking to speak with the alleged victim about the abuse.

Workers need to make direct contact with the alleged victim to avoid any attempts by the alleged abuser to sabotage their efforts. If you are not able to make initial contact with the alleged victim, you should find alternative, creative means of contact (e.g. speaking to other professionals working with the family – for example the child’s school).

There will be times when workers arrive at the home and find both partners present. In these instances, you should collect general family information and refrain from direct inquiry about the Domestic Violence. You can request separate, follow-up interviews and inform family members that it is a routine agency procedure.


Where the need for immediate protection is identified, then immediate action is required. For instance, if the perpetrator has threatened or attempted to injure or kill the client and/or his/her children, an immediate referral to the police is essential. Similarly, where immediate risk to children is identified, a safeguarding referral must be made. For all cases, there will be experts in Domestic Violence in your area. Locate them and work in partnership with them when you identify domestic abuse.

MARAC

MARAC stands for Multi-agency Risk Assessment Conference. It is the existing process for working with families where Domestic Violence has been identified and the woman is deemed to be at high risk of significant harm. It is essential that you link into this process for known cases and for cases where you suspect there may be Domestic Violence, you should initiate the process.

The identification of high risk victims of domestic abuse has been made possible by the use of the Coordinated action against domestic abuse (Caada) - DASH Risk Identification Checklist (RIC). The DASH tool is available from www.caada.org.uk/marac/RIC_without_guidance.pdf

MARAC is a monthly multi-agency meeting, chaired by the police. In a single meeting, the MARAC combines up to date risk information with a timely assessment of a victim's needs and links those directly to the provision of appropriate services for all those involved in a domestic abuse case:- victim, children and perpetrator. Information is shared and joint decisions made on the most appropriate way to reduce or manage the identified risks.

The MARAC is made up of a core group of people, representing both the statutory and voluntary sector. The meeting involves contribution and commitment from agencies including police, probation, Children's Services, Adults’ Services, Health, education, housing, substance misuse services, and specialist domestic abuse services, namely the Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs). IDVAs receive accredited training and support high risk victims of domestic abuse. Other agencies can attend on an ad hoc basis, when they have involvement in one of the cases being discussed. The victim does not attend the meeting, nor does the perpetrator, or the Crown Prosecution Service.

IDVAs - Independent Domestic Violence Advisors

Each victim referred to the MARAC will be allocated an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA). The IDVA is a trained specialist whose goal is the safety of domestic abuse victims, focusing on victims at high risk of harm. The IDVA will attempt to make contact with the referrer and the victim following receipt of a MARAC referral. The IDVA's job is to be a bridge between victims and the MARAC meeting. The IDVA will try and meet the victim beforehand, or at least talk to them on the phone, and explain how the meeting works, what it can do, and what the options are. The IDVA will also ask if there is anything the victim would like brought up at the meeting. IDVAs help keep victims and their children safe from harm from violent partners or family. Serving as a victim’s primary point of contact, IDVAs normally work with their clients from the point of crisis, to assess the level of risk.

http://www.caada.org.uk/marac/RIC_without_guidance.pdf


Discuss the range of suitable options

Develop plans for immediate safety – including practical steps for victims to protect themselves and their children.

Develop plans for longer-term safety.

Represent their clients at the MARAC.

Help apply sanctions and remedies available through the criminal and civil courts, including housing options.

These plans address immediate safety, including practical steps for victims to protect themselves and their children, as well as longer-term solutions.

Whole Family Working

Intervention with perpetrators is an area of expert practice and it is preferable this be left to people experienced in this area, however in situations where the violence comes up unexpectedly or is planned to be discussed with the perpetrator, consider the following:-

The abused client should not be present when meeting with the perpetrator.

Responsibility for abuse always lies with the perpetrator.

Written information about the abused client should be stored safely where it cannot be accessed by the perpetrator.

Use a direct and calm approach.

Frame the discussion about the Domestic Violence as a health care issue, for example “There appears to be a lot happening in your life right now.”

Advise the perpetrator that Domestic Violence is a crime, is unacceptable and there are no cultural justifications.

Advise the perpetrator there are services which can assist when he/she is ready. Provide written information about support services in the region or of appropriate websites.


7. Multi-agency working

Building trust and partnership

For Think Family to work there needs to be regular, meaningful and honest communication between all the services that are working with a family. There is no hard and fast way of doing this but there are some principles that underpin good partnership relationships:-

Face to face contact - try to meet all the people involved with the family at least initially and think about telephoning rather than emailing them.

Knowing the people in the organisation - they need to be more than 'the police' or 'the Council' if you are to work collaboratively. Invest time in getting to know your peers in other organisations.

Make your starting point 'we', not 'us and them' - for the family, you are one team even if you are from different organisations.

Think about what is in the clients' best interest - would they want you to share information or not? If it made their lives easier, would they say no?

Trust others to do what you were going to do - you may have done it in a slightly different way, but does the family need another intervention?

Trust often comes from actively working with another person. The colleagues we know and trust the most are usually those in our own teams who we have worked with on something. This level of trust can be replicated with other teams by working together on something, so seek out opportunities to do this. Or, spend some time in the office of a partner service so you can really understand what they do, the pressures they work under or the motivation and culture of the service. This level of understanding breeds trust. The reverse is also true - not knowing enough about a service can lead to misunderstanding, generalisations about service culture and can result in it appearing that they are working against you or not in the best interests of the client. That is very unlikely to be the case - but if it ever were, you need to have the working relationship in order to solve the conflict.

Multi-agency review meetings

As well as the need for good, informal trusting relationships between professionals there is also a need to have regular formal contact. As part of Think Family you all share each other’s outcome targets, so a regular way to track and monitor progress and to collaborate and problem solve together with the family is essential.


Good multi-agency meetings:-

Will usually be arranged around 8 weeks after the initial meeting with the family and regular intervals thereafter.

Are attended by the family and identified agencies.

Discuss and review outcomes of assessment, support plan and contracts.

Involve all parties signing up to their responsibilities.

Seek to ensure commitment from agencies and the family.

Ensure continued work with the family to address short, medium and long-term goals.

Supervision Supervision is an important right and benefit for all those working in social care and children’s services. It is important that professionals are fully involved and make the most of the opportunities that supervision offers. In particular they should:-

Prepare for each supervision meeting by reviewing notes from the previous meeting and thinking about the things you want to raise and discuss.

Be ready to share your thoughts and ideas in the meeting.

Be open about what has gone well and what you have found difficult.

Be ready to plan and undertake training and other development activities as agreed with your supervisor.

Check and read the notes of your meetings and make sure you follow through and complete any actions as agreed.

Reflective Practice Consider the outcomes of Think Family. Quietly reflecting on our work can provide helpful insights for practice development. Discussing cases (with appropriate confidentiality) with colleagues or through practice supervision is also useful.

Spend 10 minutes reflecting on the work you have done with a family.

What would you change in your approach if you had the chance again?

How might this have made your work more effective?

How effective was I in achieving my goal?

Who made me feel this way?

Why did I do that?

When did I realise that?

How did it feel to…?

What led me to...?

Using a framework such as who, what, when, why and how can be helpful.


8. What is an outcome for Payment by Results (PbR)? For the purposes of the Think Family programme, successful outcomes for the family are those that trigger the 'Payment by Results' payment. Put simply, these outcomes are the opposite of the criteria that got the family onto the programme in the first place. Timeframes for achieving outcomes vary but the tracking of outcomes is continuous and there is an annual reporting process. This is all done locally and reported to DCLG.

Anti-social behaviour

This result requires: At least a 60% reduction in anti-social behaviour across the household in the last six months.

Reducing crime by under 18 year-olds in the family

This result requires: Overall level of proven offending across all under 18 year-olds in the household has reduced by at least 33% in the last six months, in comparison to their average level of proven offending in the previous six months.

Education

This result requires: All children in the household who are in school, a Pupil Referral Unit or alternative provision have had fewer than three fixed term exclusion and less than 15% unauthorised absences in the last three consecutive terms; and All children in the household who are not on the school roll have moved into a school, Pupil Referral Unit or alternative provision, have had fewer than three fixed term exclusions and less than 15% unauthorised absences in the last three consecutive terms.

Work

Progress towards work (but not in a job) This result requires: An adult in the household has volunteered for the Work Programme or has been attached to the European Social Fund provision in the last six months. Move into continuous employment This result requires: An adult in the household to move off out of work benefits and into continuous employment. The length of continuous employment varies according to the benefit that was being claimed.

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