Job title: Troubled families co-ordinator

How did the role come about?

The government is investing £448m over three years in its payment-by-results scheme targeting families with multiple problems, including involvement in crime or antisocial behaviour, truancy or exclusion from school, and unemployment. Local authorities have been charged with identifying these families and will receive funding for achieving outcomes such as reducing antisocial behaviour and improving school attendance.

Every top-tier local authority has been asked to employ a troubled families co-ordinator to oversee the delivery of the programme. The role is funded directly by government, which has budgeted around £51m for such posts. All councils have now recruited or are in the process of recruiting, apart from the Isles of Scilly, which says it does not have enough applicable families to make the role worthwhile.

What do these co-ordinators do?

The day-to-day requirements of the role vary between local authorities because the government has given a good deal of leeway in how the programme is run, and which families are targeted, as long as councils achieve the desired results. Many co-ordinators have taken on the role as part of a wider portfolio.

In some areas co-ordinators are developing new troubled families programmes while in others, they are building on existing work, such as family intervention projects. Many are based within children’s services, but not all.

“There is not a job description from us,” a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) says.

“But it is important that every council has someone in charge of local targets, who can act as a liaison between the national team and the local level. These co-ordinator posts are making sure that relevant services are working together on a local level.”

What skills do troubled families co-ordinators need?

There are no prescribed skill sets, qualifications, or preferred backgrounds. However, one essential skill is the ability to work effectively with professionals from a wide variety of sectors, because the programme brings together departments and agencies including social care, health, housing, education, police, probation, voluntary organisations and IT.

Co-ordinators also benefit from an affinity with data and statistics, because much of their role is about identifying families that meet the criteria for the scheme and ensuring that the required outcomes are met. They need to be able to navigate jargon and be up-to-date with developing policy and practice across the children, young people and families sector.

Sam Martin, troubled families co-ordinator at Sheffield City Council, believes it is helpful to have a good knowledge of a locality before taking on the role. “There are so many new stakeholders that I had not had much contact with previously. If I had come into the role from another area I would have had a tougher job. You need to know who you can call for help.”

Is there any extra support or training available for those taking on the role?

An online network run through the Local Government Association aims to help troubled families co-ordinators share expertise. A conference took place in September to allow co-ordinators to network and share best practice, and further events are planned.

“We are not saying you have to have certain skills, but local authorities might want to give co-ordinators training in, for example, project management or frontline family work, depending on the role,” the DCLG spokesman says.

What will happen to the role once the three-year funding is over?

The troubled families scheme itself is a three-year programme, so local authorities will have to decide whether to continue with similar arrangements after it comes to an end. If they do continue, the role of co-ordinator will change considerably because there will no longer be a need to collate results to report to central government in return for payment-by-results cash.

“After two or three years, if we reshape services successfully, my post won’t be needed anymore, and I can look at other things,” says Martin. “The focus will turn in 12 months – suddenly the end of the programme will be rushing at you and we’ll be looking at what’s coming next.”