The document summarizes Liverpool's Families Programme which aims to improve outcomes for troubled families. Troubled families are defined as those involved in crime or anti-social behavior, with children not attending school or adults claiming out-of-work benefits. Liverpool has the fourth highest number of these families in England. The program takes a multi-agency, whole-family approach to increasing family resilience and reducing dependence on services. It establishes leadership groups to oversee the work programme which funds family support projects, workforce development, and information sharing initiatives. The next phase focuses on collaboration across local authorities and transforming services to better support families.

1. Families Programme:
What, where, who, why and
when
Gail Porter
11 November 2014

2. Background
The Dept. of Communities and Local Government’s ‘Troubled Families’
programme was launched in April 2012 and forms part of a national
commitment to ‘turnaround’ 120,000 families by March 2015.
‘Troubled families’ are deemed to be households who are:
•Involved in crime and anti-social behaviour
•Have children not in school
•Have an adult on out of work benefits
•Cause high costs to the public purse.
The programme operates on a Payment-By-Results basis.

3. Background
Liverpool’s response to this issue is the Liverpool Families Programme which
has been in operation since April 2013.
Led by the City Council, the Programme is working with multi-agency
partners to embed a whole-family, intelligence-led approach with a focus on
improving families’ social and economic outcomes.
Our focus is on services working smarter together alongside families -
doing with and not to or for families - to increase resilience, and reduce
the duplication, cost and long term dependence on services -
embedding a ‘whole-family’ approach

4. Liverpool context
• As of April 2012 there were 2,105 families which met the
national criteria (crime, ASB, educational attendance,
out-of-work benefits) and local indicators (such as
domestic violence, hate crime).
• Liverpool has the fourth highest number of troubled
families behind Manchester in comparison to the other
core cities in England, and the highest rate among the
Merseyside Local Authorities

5. Progress to date
• Families Strategic Leadership Group in place – debate,
discussion and challenge.
• Group meets monthly and includes representatives from LCVS,
Liverpool Learning Partnership, schools, health, police,
housing, Probation – good overview of different organisational
issues.
• Work programme agreed including funding related to family
support projects, School Family Support Service, workforce
development, IT and information sharing, community capacity
development (know local: work local), early help assessment s,
Parenting strategy.
• Emphasis on doing things differently, not just doing different
things

6. Current policy and opportunities
• Phase 2 of the Families Programme – building on
current knowledge and understanding
• Focus on ‘transformation’ (revolution, conversion or
makeover?) and a drive towards collaboration across the
Merseyside Local Authorities (not just for the families
who move across borders)
• Public Service Reform but with links to asset-based
approaches, person-centred planning, payment-by-results,
outcomes
• Family emphasis remains – family impact assessments?

7. Discussion & Questions