Family Help
Background
What is Family Help?
Family Help is an offer of support which enables families to receive the right help at the right time to stop small problems getting bigger.
We used to call this Early Help but for some families, the problems were not new, and their children were older, so we have changed the name to better reflect who this support is for.
Family Help is support for families who have children aged 0-19 years (or 25 years if the children have SEND).
Family Help is not an individual service, but a system of support delivered by local authorities and their partners working together and taking collective responsibility to provide the right provision in their area.
Statutory Guidance clearly sets out that “Where a child and family would benefit from co-ordinated support from more than one organisation or agency (for example, education, health, housing) there should be a multi-agency assessment” (Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023’).
In Liverpool, we used to call this an Early Help Assessment (EHAT) but it is now known as a Family Help Assessment (FHA).
Who should provide Family Help?
Some family help and Family Help Assessments are provided through “universal services”, such as education and health services, and other partners working together. This Family Help sits at Level of Need 2 on our local safeguarding continuum.
Other Family Help services and Family Help Assessments are coordinated by a local authority and/or their partners to address specific concerns within a family and can be described as targeted early help. This Family Help sits at Level of Need 3 on our local safeguarding continuum and is coordinated and led by our teams of dedicated Family Help Outreach Support Workers within the Local Authority Family Help Service.
Offering swift and coordinated help and support to families is the responsibility of professionals in all agencies.
Further Information and Support
For professionals
Further information, advice, guidance, and support is available for all professionals working with a child, young person or their family who would benefit from Family Help and is available from:
Liverpool Family Support Team
Tel: 0151 233 1359
Email: EHLHnorth@Liverpool.gov.uk
Multi Agency Family Help Training
All professionals have a shared responsibility to support families through Family Help. There is a range of training and support available for professionals to make sure that everyone understands the local Levels of Need framework and knows when and how to complete a Family Help Assessment (FHA).
To attend 'An Introduction to Family Help' training click HERE
To join the Early Help Practice Forum and received up to date information, advice and support with other professionals click HERE