THE success of struggling families who have turned their lives around will be celebrated at a special conference this month.

Held at New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion on March 25, the conference will welcome senior leaders and practitioners from a range of services who have worked in partnership to successfully deliver the first phase of Wirral’s Intensive Family Intervention Programme.

The project, which is part of the Government’s Troubles Families initiative, has achieved remarkable success in turning around the lives of families in Wirral that have multiple, complex needs.

Last week, the Globe reported how the Government’s drive to turn around troubled families has now assisted more than 700 of the hardest-to-help households in Wirral.

In his latest update of progress on the programme, communities secretary Eric Pickles said that across England 105,671 families with complex needs had received support from local authority teams by February.

The figure puts the scheme on track to achieve the prime minister’s goal of helping 120,000 by the end of this parliament.

The drive targets families whose lives have been affected by problems such as crime, alcoholism and truancy.

In Merseyside, 4,467 household have been helped, with 727 in Wirral.

67% of participants re-engaged with or stayed in employment, education or training in 2013/14, with significant decreases in domestic violence, anti-social behaviour, and drug and alcohol misuse.

These reductions help to manage the impact on local public services and turn lives around. 

In 2013, the director general of the national Troubled Families project, Louise Casey, visited Wirral.

Following the visit, Ms Casey wrote to then chief executive Graham Burgess saying that “Wirral is above average for the numbers of families turned around” and describing Wirral on the project’s “fantastic performance”, adding: “You have a tremendous team”.

Cllr Tony Smith, cabinet Member for children and family services said: “This event marks the end of the first phase of our programme, and the beginning of a new chapter.

“There have been a number of positive outcomes from the process, not least the effects it has had on families and on future generations. We have also seen significant progress in areas like school attendance and drug and alcohol misuse. The focus is very much on solutions that tackle a whole range of problems.

“I would like to highlight the dedication and hard work of Wirral Council’s staff, and that of our partner organisations. We have seen a hugely successful outcome thanks to close partnership working between public sector bodies and Wirral families.”

The event will include stalls hosted by multi-agency partners, a presentation on the second phase of the programme, and a specially commissioned film, including interviews with families that took part in the programme talking about their experiences.

The Intensive Family Intervention Programme brings together public and private sector bodies including Wirral Council, Merseyside Police, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, Catch 22, Job Centre+ and Home-Start Wirral.

Families receive one-to-one support, including regular home visits from their allocated key worker, who conducts a whole-family assessment which helps to determine the root causes of their problems.

The key worker looks at the family’s needs and strengths, considering the roles of children, parents and carers within the family, and supports them to make long-term changes.