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General overview

Stage of development: Implementation

Policy sector: Child and family welfare

Date outcomes contract signed: Mar 2019

Start date of service provision: Mar 2019

Anticipated completion date: Jan 2026

Capital raised (min/max investment): GBP 863.87k (USD 1.10m) - GBP 1.75m (USD 2.23m)

Max potential outcome payment: GBP 6.70m

Service users: 542 individuals

Intervention

Whole family-based intervention using Functional Family Therapy. It seeks to improve communication and supportiveness between parents or guardians and young people, while decreasing hostility. The intervention will reduce the number of older adolescents entering, and staying in care. This will be acomplished by:

- Intensive planned (and reactive) work by multi-disciplinary professionals working with the family network;
- trusted and sustained relationships between family and professionals;
- addresing the underlying issues of mental health, substance misuse, gangs, un-boundaried behaviour and acute family stress; and
- wrap-around support including full-time education/training/employment, respite care, positive activities and meeting the needs of adults.

Target population

8-16 years (17 year olds with agreement from Commissioner) at risk of entering care / reunification of children already in care.

Location

Country

  • United Kingdom

Service delivery locations

  • Suffolk County Council

Involved organisations

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Outcome metrics

  • Metric 1: Children on the edge of care sustainably avoid the need for care. Payment at 14 weeks after referral (payment at the end of the intervention). Then paid quarterly for each day the child remains out of Care for 1 and a half years.
  • Metric 2: Children are sustainably reunified with their family/wider network. Payment at 14 weeks after referral (payment at end of intervention). Then paid quarterly for each day the child remains out of Care for 1 and a half years

Results

Stronger Families Suffolk started delivering services in March 2019 and will finish in January 2026. Data was last updated in March 2024. These are interim results.

Outcome achievements

Overall target is based on the high case scenario defined in the Life Chances Fund Final Award Offer or Variation Agreements.

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The intermediary organisation's comment on this graph:

'Stronger Families Suffolk is a Functional Family Therapy outcomes contract. The design of this outcomes contract took into consideration learning from previous family therapy outcomes contracts such as Essex or Positive Families Partnership. The intermediary and delivery partner in Stronger Families Suffolk, Bridges Outcomes Partnerships and Family Psychology Mutual, are the same as in Stronger Families Norfolk, a family therapy child welfare outcomes contract in Norfolk. This partnership has fostered innovation and knowledge sharing between both outcomes contracts. Stronger Families Suffolk was recommissioned by Suffolk County Council in 2023 to deliver support to families for an additional two years. Stronger Families Suffolk is currently expecting to perform well in terms of volumes, although has supported more edge of care families and less reunifications than initially anticipated.'

Outcome payments

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The intermediary organisation's comment on this graph:

'Stronger Families Suffolk is projecting to achieve outcome payments in line with those initially anticipated.'

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