Troubled families in Bristol will soon be given earlier help in a plan to prevent children going into care. Over the past five years the cost of children in care has risen by a staggering £50 million, with many children placed in exorbitantly expensive homes outside of Bristol.
Rising numbers of children are being taken from their families and put into care, both in Bristol and across the country. This both damages their long-term chances in life and heaps a huge amount of pressure on already stretched public finances.
Bristol City Council is planning to provide more early intervention for families at risk of being broken up. The plan was approved by the children and young people policy committee on Thursday, January 23, pending next year’s budget getting approved.
Green Councillor Shona Jemphrey, a former child protection officer, said: “This is really exciting. I wish this had happened six or seven years ago, because it would have made my job — and the lives of the families I worked with — so much easier. Family support workers are really at the frontline.
“Social workers spend half the time writing reports, but family support workers are the ones going out, building relationships with families, and supporting an isolated mum to get to a domestic abuse service, a mental health appointment or a parent-toddler group. They’re the ones helping people feeling overwhelmed by clutter in a house to get on top of that.
“As a new mum myself, I’ve been really enjoying the family hubs. It’s been amazing and a free place to meet other parents, which is incredibly important and rarer than you might think.”
Sign up to receive daily news updates and breaking news alerts straight to your inbox for free here.
Over the past few years the council has been trying to tackle the supply side of children’s social care. This includes opening five new children’s homes with 32 places, and increasing the pay of social workers to improve recruitment and retention. The next focus will be on tackling demand, which has been rising as increasingly more children are put into care.
A key part of the plan is an extra £1.9 million funding for hiring more family support workers, who are one rung down from social workers. These will carry out group and individual work with families to prevent their children from going into care, including cognitive behavioural therapy.
Another aspect is a boost in support for foster carers, amid a national shortage. A consultant will be hired to carry out the changes, but the amount they will be paid depends on their results. However, children’s centres have faced budget cuts in recent years, and one in Hartcliffe has been left empty and boarded up. These centres provided crucial parenting support to families.
Labour Cllr Susan Kollar said: “I worked in a Sure Start Centre, and it was part of the groups of centres in Hartcliffe, Withywood and Bishopsworth. There was a purpose-built one, built by Barnado’s [a children’s charity]. It’s currently closed and boarded up.
“It was a wicked resource in the community that was over-subscribed and used incredibly well. It just breaks my heart to see it boarded up.”