FtSE Member News: Action For Children - Innovation and early intervention key to delivering improved lives of vulnerable children

Our latest Impact report, which monitored the 667 services we deliver across the UK, found strong improvements in the health, education and well-being of the 250,000 children, young people and families we support.

Innovation continues to be central to the work of Action for Children. Nearly 20 years since the ground-breaking Dundee Families service set the standard for intensive family support, Action for Children is continuing to lead the way in delivering innovative and evidence-based programmes. A project designed to tackle the early signs of neglect is showing strong early results: in 79% of cases supported by its Family Partners programme, concerns about neglect were addressed and concerns about a child’s safety were either reduced or removed.

The charity also provides a range of effective evidence-based programmes including Multi-dimensional Treatment Foster Care and Multi Systemic Therapy (MST). It is also leading the way in delivering projects funded through social investment including MST in Essex, the first children’s service to be delivered in the UK under this new funding model.

Action for Children’s Deputy Chief Executive Jacob Tas said:

“We are proud of our continued achievements in providing services that meet the needs of vulnerable children and help them feel safe, become healthier and enable them to reach their full potential. Action for Children has a history of delivering innovative services that target the needs of the most vulnerable children, and this is a tradition that continues today.

“Children face problems at different stages of their lives for all sorts of reasons. We believe that early interventionmeans meeting people’s needs as soon as they are known, which we know is crucial to turning lives around.

“At a time when it’s harder and harder to find funds for vital services it’s crucial that we continue to innovate and demonstrate the real impact that our work has on children, young people and their families and society as a whole. We will continue to highlight that supporting services for vulnerable children makes good financial sense for both government and local authorities.”


Source: www.actionforchildren.org.uk/news/archive/2013/june/innovation-and-early-intervention-key-to-delivering-improved-lives-of-vulnerable-children

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