Charity launches tool to track work with troubled families

Under the payment-by-results programme, which was launched by the government last year, councils are paid for successfully helping families with complex needs in areas such as truancy and finding work.

Family Action says its Family Star tool will chart services’ progress in meeting targets and help councils show the financial value of the support being offered.

The launch follows an independent evaluation of the tool carried out by York Consulting, which was published today.

The evaluation found it successfully tracked evidence that the lives of families being supported by the Troubled Families programme were improving and could clearly link this information to its payment-by-results structure.

David Holmes, chief executive of Family Action, said: “The tool enables commissioners to demonstrate the real value for money that their Troubled Families programmes and other programmes for families with multiple complex needs are delivering.”

Rhian Beynon, head of policy and campaigns at Family Action, added: "Family Star is the only tool used to measure parental progress that directly engages with families and frontline staff, as well as managers and commissioners.

"It provides timely information to benchmark performance in a way that allows local authorities to see how well families are doing, and to take corrective action where necessary."

The tool focuses on eight areas of family life: promoting good health; meeting emotional needs; keeping your child safe; building community; supporting learning; setting boundaries; encouraging work aspirations and providing a home and family income.

Figures released last month by the Department for Communities and Local Government showed that councils missed the programme’s first-year target of working with 41,835 families.

Between April 2012 and March 2013 local authorities supported 35,618 families through the programme.