Letters to the Editor: Support families before problems escalate

Derren Hayes is right. Rather than decrying the absence of finance across the board, we must seek innovative solutions to stem the rise in care applications, and ultimately reduce the growing number of "looked-after" children (Editorial, CYP Now, 27 September-10 October).

The Children's Social Care Innovation Fund ultimately sets out to achieve this - a more innovative approach resulting in better outcomes for children.

All too often, we offer too little too late to support families who are struggling to provide a safe, loving environment for children. We must ensure that vulnerable families get the support they need, before their problems escalate - whether mental or physical health, financial worries or relationship breakdowns. More can be done to ensure that families stay together, delivering fewer children into care, and improving life chances.

Working with the Dartington Social Research Unit, Safe Families for Children has been developing an innovative approach to matching the civil, social and local authority systems to reduce the flow of children being taken into care. At the heart of the model are volunteers, trained and prepared to offer a community-based solution to a community-based problem. Safe Families for Children provides an "off the shelf" service, focusing on early intervention and a "people helping people" approach. After only a year working with Nottingham City Council, early reports suggest a 10 per cent diversion away from short-term care.

The need to rebuild communities and reverse this frightening trend has never been more essential.

Keith Danby, chief executive, Safe Families for Children


Save our parks and green spaces for young people

Meeting your mates in the park and having a kickabout with jumpers for goalposts has been one of the simple pleasures in the lives of young people for generations. But it's a pleasure denied to many and the situation might be about to get worse.

Reports from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Association of Public Sector Excellence conclude that the squeeze on public sector resources will affect parks disproportionately to other services.

This is despite the fact that having good quality green space close to where we live has been proven to have positive benefits on everything from mental health to property prices. When asked, adults want to see councils prioritise spending on playgrounds and young people value parks ahead of other youth facilities. If our parks slide into disuse and decay young people will feel the pain more ?than most.

Statistics show that if you're a young person from a low-income family you're already more likely to live in an area with fewer green spaces and be dissatisfied with the quality of those you've got. A new YouGov survey commissioned by Groundwork reveals the stark fact that 30 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds from lower income families say they never visit a local park, more than double the number from higher income families.

It's vital that all those who use and value parks are able to have their say and we're asking young people to post stories, comments and photos on social media using the hashtag #GiveUsSpace.

Graham Duxbury, chief executive, Groundwork UK