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Newport Council was among the first round of Welsh authorities pioneering in 2010 an "integrated family support team" for families with substance misuse issues. Rising care numbers led Newport's then head of children and families Mike Nicholson to pursue a new way of supporting families, drawing on the team's intensive, strength-based, resilience-building approach, but using it more flexibly to tackle a wider range of issues.
So Newport sought a strategic partner to co-develop and deliver a pathway of integrated support services for vulnerable children and families, from prevention to edge-of-care. Barnardo's took on the contract in 2011, contributing £200,000, pooled with £1m of council funding. The resulting Integrated Family Support Service (IFSS) incorporated services delivered by the council, others by Barnardo's and some in partnership. "The third sector has more freedom for creativity, because it's less bound by process," explains Nicholson's successor, Sally Jenkins. "But the council has expertise in statutory processes, such as court. We're incorporating the best of both worlds."
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