There is no single definition of early help. For some, it means creating the right environment for children to thrive in the first five years of life and involves putting in place parenting support for struggling families before problems deteriorate and require more intensive intervention.
For others, early help is not restricted to younger children, but instead can be applied to tackling problems into adolescence and early adulthood. They point to the fact that for many young people problems - such as risk-taking behaviour, mental ill health and offending - only begin to emerge in adolescence.
As this broader definition of early help has taken root, a wide range of organisations and agencies - from police to fire services - have started to play a greater role in delivering early interventions to vulnerable children and families.
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