Multi-agency service reduces need for care in Manchester

ACTION

Manchester has some of the highest rates of child poverty in the UK - 45 per cent according to statistics published by the End Child Poverty Campaign in May. At least 20 per cent of the city's population of 34,000 under-fives is at risk of having or developing behavioural problems. But over the past five years, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust's Children and Parents Service (CAPS) has delivered parenting courses, among other interventions, to this target group, resulting in measurable, positive outcomes.

Service head consultant clinical psychologist Caroline White set up the approach 21 years ago. At first she ran it part-time, but it now employs 55 whole-time equivalent members of staff and receives around 1,000 referrals a year. The group includes 25 clinical psychologists from the health service and 25 family support workers or group leaders from other agencies, including charities Family Action, Barnardo's, Big Life, and Manchester Home Start. Manchester City Council provides three quarters of the service's funding, while children's mental health funds the rest, with an annual budget of around £2m.