An early intervention team has supported 195 vulnerable kids across Dumfries and Galloway in its first year of operation.
The council’s social work department has hailed the work of the family support team, which was set up in November 2020 and now comprises two senior social workers and 13 support staff working closely with families.
The team deals primarily with early intervention cases for children who are facing problems at home such as neglect, poverty, physical abuse, sexual abuse, poor parental mental health, domestic abuse, drug/alcohol misuse, or poor parenting capacity.
Some children have been referred because of poor school attendance, mental health issues, and isolation.
Sarah McGarva, a leader in the council’s family support services team, produced a report outlining the challenges faced across the region and how her team assists families. It will be produced at the council’s social work committee next Thursday.
She wrote: “A lot of initial involvement is about helping families to sort out their initial crisis; this could be home conditions, finances, help to find a home and settle and get children into a new school following an emergency move to a new area because of domestic abuse.
“It takes time to build a relationship with a family and gain their trust, to see how their family works and understand what is getting in the way of their family life and then workers can help families appreciate the need for routines and boundaries.
“It takes perseverance to sustain changes within a family and parents and children often need support to establish new routines so that they are successful in the longer term.
“As we get to know families we can help them build their own support networks. We want to help families see the benefits of the hard work.”
The report shows that 88 families are currently being assisted by the family support team.
Dumfries has the highest number of families in the region requiring support, with 28 cases, while Stranraer is next with 18 families.
Newton Stewart has eight families getting help, while Annan and Castle Douglas both have seven.
Work continues with families across Dumfries and Galloway including working in collaboration with the children and families social work services area teams and third sector organisations including NHS Drugs and Alcohol Service.
The council agreed in July last year to invest £535,000 per annum over three years to fund the family support work.
Social work bosses are convinced that this vital groundwork with families across the region will pay off in the long term.
