Derby is one of three pilot areas, along with Cumbria and Tower Hamlets.
Clients are usually referred to me by adult drug services or other professionals. The first step is to assess their needs, usually at home. It gives you a more rounded appreciation of what is going on in their lives. We then try to establish how to reduce their usage and establish some stability to reduce harm on family life.
There is a range of strategies from helping people get into treatment to reducing the risk of using drug paraphernalia. One of the positive things about the programme is its flexibility. Six months is the average time we see people, but everybody is different and I have been seeing some parents for 18 months. If their lives are chaotic, I can be in contact two or three times a week. We monitor the children's lives too - things like school attendance are a good indicator of how they are doing.
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