Family support services
Family Support Services provide a range of services that promote and safeguard the welfare of families and young children. Staff work with parents or carers to help them understand and meet the needs of their children in a safe, supported and caring environment. Each offers a specific service to a local community, but may include:
- Focused family support - with initial assessment, agreed work plan and three-monthly reviews
- Specific pieces of work - focused individual work, as part of agreed Care Plan, either at the centre or at the family home
- Assessments - Parenting assessments
- Adult group work - focused group work, for example - parenting skills, assertiveness and behaviour management
- Direct work (adult) - individual work with parent / carer , to help them make sense of, and manage difficulties in family life
- Life Story Work (child) - Individual work with the child to promote their identity and help them understand what happened in their life
- Family support groups - Supportive sessions for families experiencing difficulties to meet (both at centres and off site), and develop their parenting skills
- Therapeutic work - individual therapeutic play work with identified children
- Supervised contact - Assessment of, or work with, parent-child relationships
- Children's groups - Small, nurturing groups with high adult / child ratio to meet specific needs, as part of family support. These groups are held after school for older children and are adapted to meet the specific needs of the identified children
- Play schemes - holiday play schemes for young children
- Family play sessions - holiday schemes for families as part of family support package to promote parent / child relationships through play
Other Services may include:
- Adult education courses – in conjunction with Adult Learning Centres and/or local colleges
- Family workshops - Graft-based activities for parents / carers / children in conjunction with Devon Family Project, working on developing confidence and self esteem
- Equipment loan
- Toy library
- Joint work with Health Visitors - Health Visitors work closely with Family Support
- Staff, both formal and informal group work
- Link Tutor Service - The centre may provide a venue for local children who are out of school to meet with their link tutor
- Credit Union collection point
- Specific Support Groups e.g. Foster Carers
Family Support Services work closely with other agencies to provide positive experiences for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. In addition to working with young children and their carers, some centres are able to offer positive and supportive placements for young people, and training opportunities for staff working with children and families.