Do therapeutic approaches work in preventing children from going into care? IPC’s evaluation of the Gweres Teyluyow (Helping Families) Service demonstrates the value of the Functional Family Therapy Child Welfare model. It works with children aged 5-11 with complex emotional or behavioural difficulties and their families.
In response to the growing demand for support for younger children who were not meeting social care thresholds or were waiting for health diagnoses, Cornwall Council has established a new multi-disciplinary team. This includes therapists to work with young children who are exhibiting challenging behaviours connected to a complex mix of adverse childhood experiences and in some cases additional needs, and where parents are struggling to cope.
IPC carried out an evaluation over 2 years, which included case file analysis and interviews with families as well as professional stakeholders. Feedback from parents included the following:
“Having a therapist and the social worker together was very good…… It is good to have two professionals giving different types of insights” (parent).
Professionals liked the intensive approach which included frequent home visits by highly skilled workers over a relatively long period which generated a high level of engagement from families. Findings from our study were that progress had been made in terms of parents feeling better equipped to safely care for their children at home, and children had improved social skills and self-efficacy.
Clare Dodwell, IPC Principal Consultant, and lead evaluator said:
“Our evaluation has demonstrated that the Gweres Teyluyow service is providing an effective model of care that is filling a gap and is popular with families and partner agencies. We also know it is beginning to show signs of achieving good outcomes. Other areas may be interested in replicating some of the key aspects that have made a difference, for example the multi-disciplinary composition of the team, the facilitative or ‘coaching’ style of working, and the emphasis on reflective practice and clinical supervision”
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