Strengthening Families and Social Networks

Research aim

The project explores front-line practitioners’ practices, experiences and attitudes towards working with the families and partners of adult clients, clients that belong to Revolving Doors’ target group.

Background: the research follows the Government’s proposals that all services, statutory and voluntary, should “Think Family” when working with clients who are part of ‘families at risk’ – those with multiple and complex problems, such as mental health, substance use, homelessness and unemployment. Family attitudes and responses are of key importance to service users in trying to deal with their problems and move forward, highlighted in a consultation held by RDA in November 2006.

More information on the aim and background to the research.

Method: front-line practitioners were brought together in multi-agency online and face-to-face focus groups to discuss case studies about clients and their families. One case focused on a client in the criminal justice system, and two focused on clients with housing and other problems. Case studies were developed through interviews with service users, family members and staff working with them. The final report is due for completion at the end of January 2009.

More information on the method.

Future development work: the research falls within the first year of a larger scale three-year piece of work. Following the research phase, RDA will develop practice which supports clients and their families in partnership with three local areas. The third year will focus on establishing and evaluating the initiatives.

Background to the Research – Think Family

The difficulties facing families suffering from multiple problems were highlighted in the Cabinet Office’s Social Exclusion Task Force’s (SETF) report “Reaching out: Think Family,” published in June 2007. The report described how 2% of families were ‘families at risk,’ suffering from multiple problems namely worklessness, low income, lack of qualifications, a parent with mental health problems or longstanding disability or illness, and poor housing conditions. These problems would follow the family through generations causing cycles of social disadvantage.

Services were failing to work in a joined-up way to address families’ multiple needs and what engagement there was tended to be crisis-led and focused on a single presenting problem. The report also described practitioners’ experiences and views on working with these families. They found them: reluctant to engage, chaotic, aggressive, lacking in confidence and motivation to change, easier to refer on to other agencies than deal with themselves, unlikely to succeed and beyond their capabilities.

“Think Family: improving the life chances of families at risk,” was published by SETF in January 2008, setting out the Government’s proposals to meet these families’ needs. Four “Think Family” principles were advanced applying for both statutory and voluntary services:

There is no ‘wrong door’ to services
The needs of the family should be considered as well as the needs of the client – a whole family approach
The focus should be on family strengths and building their capacity to take on responsibility
Support given should be relative to need.

Our research considers whether and how these principles can be applied in practice. It also asks practitioners to consider what would encourage them to work with families? And what barriers to this way of working do they foresee?

Method

A detailed literature and policy review explores practitioners' experiences of family work within their organisation, and the background and rationale to the “Think Family” initiative.

Three case studies have been developed for practitioners to respond to by participating in either online or face-to-face focus groups:

Sarah (32)

Karen (25) is a single parent with three children of 4 years, 19 months and 3 months living in temporary accommodation. She is finding it difficult to engage with services.

Dan (47) is a problem drinker living in a hostel. He has two children of 19 years and 15 years who live with his ex-partner. Dan is of Pakistani origin.

The case studies are fictional and contain detailed information on a client’s family and social situation, based on the detail of real cases. They are put together from interviews with clients, their family members, and relevant practitioners.

We will present the findings to client groups in early Januarly to help us to establish if what the practitioners have told us replicates what clients have experienced on the ground. This will also enable thinking about the policy implications of the research findings and development opportunities for pilots. The final report is due to be completed by the end of January 2009.

For further information on the project, contact:

Lauren Herlitz
lauren.herlitz@revolving-doors.org.uk
020 7553 6069