IA2494 FAMILY SUPPORT AND OUTREACH SERVICE

The Council are seeking to deliver an integrated approach for children and families; connecting all families to what they need in the community and improving outcomes for children and families. Where support is required for some Families, we want access to this to be local, accessible and make a difference.

The Family Support and Outreach Service will take a strengths-based approach to working with families, with children 0-19 years (and up to 25 years for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities). It will join up services around the family, supporting them to find solutions to their own problems and giving them the tools they need to sustain the positive changes they make.

The Family Support and Outreach Service will contribute to Staffordshire's Building Resilient Families & Communities (BRFC) programme. BRFC is Staffordshire's approach to the national Supporting Families Programme. The national programme has been developed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in order to improve evidence-based, multi-agency responses and ensure that families who need support get it at the right point, in the right way, as early as possible.

Staffordshire County Council is seeking to contract with providers who can deliver all elements of the Family Support and Outreach Service.

The purpose of The Family Support and Outreach Service is to deliver three key elements of Service:

1. Referral Based Family Support - offering early help to families to prevent needs from escalating and equipping the family with the skills needed to achieve and sustain positive outcomes. 2. Targeted Outreach Visits - focused on those families with young children who may benefit from information, advice, guidance and signposting into local community resources and assets.

3. Support to access community support, groups and Universal Offers and entitlements - offering practical hands-on support to enable families who would not normally access these offers, to help them to engage with available resources and support within their community.

Staffordshire County Council is particularly interested to hear from providers who can offer support for children and families with more complex, multiple needs.