Help for Vulnerable Children in RCT and Merthyr Tydfil

Vulnerable children and families across Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil will soon receive more help and assistance thanks to a new innovative scheme built to strengthen support across Wales.

The announcement made last week (24th August) by the Welsh Assembly Government will see the creation of new multi-agency teams across the newly created consortium between the two Local Authorities. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and Merthyr Tydfil Council have been selected to jointly drive the development of a single Integrated Family Support service together with Health partners, across both County Boroughs.

The new multi-agency team, based on a model that will be unique to Wales, will bring together social workers, family workers, substance misuse professionals, nurses and health visitors, to work directly with families to protect and support vulnerable children. This groundbreaking team will become operational in Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil in spring 2010.

The consortium will receive up to £600,000 each financial year over the next three years to support the establishment of this new approach.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Councillor Annette Davies, Cabinet Member for Children and Equality, said: “This pioneering initiative will support some of the most vulnerable children and families in Rhondda Cynon Taf and our partner in this project, Merthyr Tydfil. I believe that it will improve outcomes for children and families and strengthen training and career opportunities for staff.

“The newly created team will help identify families with problems earlier and work intensively with families in order to keep a child or children at home.”

Councillor Richard Thomas, Portfolio Member for Integrated Children Services of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, said “We are delighted again to be in partnership, with the Welsh Assembly Government and our neighbour Rhondda Cynon Taf, to deliver such a groundbreaking initiative for the benefit of children in both County Boroughs. It is another excellent example of collaborative working between the two Authorities. The initiative will complement and build on investments already in place to enable vulnerable families to better care for their children and provide them with improved life chances.”

The unique team created will also work with children and families where children have already been taken into care and with support, look to enabling the child to move back home where it is safe to do so and will better connect children and adult services with a focus on the family.

Initially, the team will focus on supporting families where one or more parent has a substance misuse problem. This will support a range of work, which is underway to improve mental health and reduce substance misuse across the two areas. Often mental health and substance misuse is interlinked and it is therefore important that the two issues are tackled together.

As well as supporting children and families, the new team will provide supervised training and development for other staff working within the NHS in Wales and Local Authorities.

Ellis Williams, Director of Social Services at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, said: “We are pleased to be working with Merthyr Tydfil Council and the Local Health Board on this initiative and are looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in making this innovative project a success. It is hoped that this project will improve the way we deliver our services. Under the new arrangements, professionals will be required to have regard to the needs of the whole family when assessing or treating adults, this can only be a positive way forward.”