Getting lives back on track involves close cooperation between many agencies
As you report, David Cameron praises the work of Emma Harrison, the founder of a social enterprise and his families champion ('The mother had problems, dad was gone. A gang had taken over the flat', 16 August). Harrison is tackling the frequent problems of chaotic family life ? truancy, criminality, addiction ? by "getting volunteers to adopt troubled households ? turning up to chivvy people into being ready for work".
There is much to admire in her proposals, but as the article makes clear, joblessness is not the only issue. While her group has pledged to help 100,000 families get back to work, the programme is only in its early stages, and "we've still got 99,999 families to help". But your article did not acknowledge the far more comprehensive work already being led by councils to tackle head-on the deep-rooted problems that made public disorder possible in some communities. Sixteen pilot councils have adopted what are known as community budgets ? working with the police, schools and voluntary sector to pool local resources and tailor services to meet troubled families' requirements.
We are already seeing tangible improvements. Cross-agency support and council-led intervention has been proven to reduce truancy, offending and police call-outs. In the case of one family the savings to the public purse were as much as �136,000. Momentum is now building behind this approach and the riots have invested a greater sense of urgency. Community budgets will be expanded to a further 50 places soon, with at least 60 more to follow in 2012-13.
In your article, the prime minister says the plans of his families champion are "being held back by bureaucracy". Very few local authorities would disagree. If these schemes are to tackle the family problems that can be the shortcut to crime and disorder, we cannot allow the ingrained culture of some government agencies to hamper progress.
Trevor Moores, former head of child services at Westminster council, is right to talk of the complexity of dealing with troubled families. The child protection issues, alcohol- and drug-addicted parents and mental health problems he spoke of reveal the solution to getting lives back on track often involves close cooperation of many different agencies. The danger in the wake of the riots is that nervous government departments will instinctively want to suck more control into the centre, creating more barriers between agencies. This must be fearlessly resisted.
It does not make sense for a troubled family with many different problems to be dealt with by several agencies independently. Let's simplify the system so they receive a single assessment and deal with a single case worker. Likewise, we need to cut the red tape which prevents agencies from sharing data. The prime minister wants to turn around the lives of 120,000 of the most troubled families by 2015. This ambitious target needs an equally ambitious approach ? one that tears down the barriers preventing agencies working together and is not directed from Whitehall.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/30/employment-only-part-answer-troubled-families
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