Kate Kelly and Ricky Williams
(Change and Challenge Managers) updated Members on the Change and
Challenge Troubled Families Programme.
The following was
highlighted:
- The
programme was launched in 2015. The focus has been the
transformation of local services to secure sustainable high quality
services for families and to ensure this continues after the
programme ends in 2020. The Troubled Families Grant currently funds
a number of posts (34 posts). We are now in Phase 2 of the
project.
- Funding comes from 3 streams – Attachment Fees, Payment by
Results and Service Transformation Grant.
- Attachment Fees - There is a target for us
to attach 2230 families by the end of 2017/18 –for them to
receive an intervention. We have met this target. A graph indicated
the ward of residence for those receiving an intervention which
showed that the largest numbers were for wards on the eastern side
of the borough. A graph also indicated
the percentage of people who met the different numbers of criteria
under the programme e.g for
worklessness, crime, health
etc.
- Payment by results – Success is
measured by a) showing if a family has managed to achieve
significant and sustained progress or b) an adult in the family has
moved off benefits and into continuous employment. So far claims
have been made for approximately 20% of the target number of
families (2970) to identify and turn round by 2020. Of those we
have claimed for, approximately 85% were for ‘continuous
employment’ with 15% for significant and sustained
progress’ Enfield has achieved good results from getting
people back to work
- Service Transformation Grant - self assessment
carried out and a Service Transformation Action Plan
developed. It is a borough wide
‘all family’ approach where interventions are put in
place
- Some
boroughs may move to a ‘payments by results’ but with a
new ‘earned autonomy’ option, however Enfield has
chosen not to do this.
- The
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which aims to strengthen
and unify data protection for all individuals will become
enforceable by 25 May 2018, officers are confident that our systems
are in line with this.
The following issues were
raised
- Confirmed that under Phase 1 approximately 700 families were
identified, criteria of Education, Employment and
Crime. Phase 2 of the programme
asked us to identify more complex families and also to link whole
families under the key principles.
Enfield met requirements under Phase 1 and are now working on Phase
2
- Officers were asked if this initiative to get people out of a
trap and back into work had been a cost benefit to Enfield and
asked if this information could be reported back to
OSC.
- It was
confirmed that when a person goes back to work, the team does not
stop working with the family. New skills may be needed for people
to gain confidence.
- Serco
had provided a number of placements in the local area.
- It was
questioned whether the phrase ‘troubled families’ was
appropriate, and when one group of families move forwards were
there then others to come in to take their place? It would be helpful to know something about the
people involved. In the future it was
suggested that some news stories would be brought back about
them.
- To
qualify for the ‘payment by results, return to work
‘ it is necessary for the person
to be off benefits completely. It was
noted that a new data system will go live in June 2018 which will
support the new Early Help Prevention Triage system and would
generate data for new families.
- A
member of the YEP referred to families moving into employment and
away from benefits , it was confirmed that the team works closely
with them so that they identify any training needs and once
employed they provide in work support.
They are honest when looking at their finances and assessing
income.
The report was NOTED and Kate Kelly and Ricky Williams were thanked for
their report.