Although pilots of the scheme are not due to finish until March 2008, Brown told the Labour Party conference last week: "because no child should ever be written off we will expand the help of nurse-family partnerships".
Social exclusion minister Gillian Merron welcomed Brown's decision to expand the project across England. "It's great news the Prime Minister has promised to expand the family nursing partnership," she told CYP Now. "These projects are making a real difference to parents and I'm looking forward to being able to move forward with this before the end of the year."
Currently 10 local authorities across England are piloting the partnerships, which put appoint health visitors to provide intensive support to hard-to-reach mums during the early years of a child's life. The scheme is based on work in the US.
Early findings from the pilots suggest the projects are proving more successful in smaller conurbations (CYP Now, 5-11 September).
