Helping Families

Local authorities, health authorites, social services, national and local voluntary organistations work together to provide services for families.

Examples of national voluntary organisations are...

• Barnardo's
• Gingerbread
• Home-Start

Local voluntary organisations are...

• Church groups
• Community Groups

Sure Start is a gonverment programme that provides a wide range of integrated services in the local community.

A range of professionals share their expertise to work with parents and children to meet their needs.

Its services include...

• Family support
• Support with employment
• Health services
• Care
• Education

All this support is avaliable from a single point of contact.

Some benefits are avaliable to everyone, regardless of income. Others are 'means' tested.

Benefits include...

• Sure Start maternity grant
• Statutory Maternity Pay
• Child benefit
• Baby bonds
• Reduced pric formula milk
• Free milk, vitamins and school meals
• New Deal for Lone Parents schemes
• Child Support Maintenance
• Free dental treatment, prescriptions and eye tests for pregnany women.
• Disability Living Allowance
• Carers' Allowance
• Welfare to Work
• Care to Learn
• Sixth Form Collefe
• Working Families Ta Credit
• Income Support
• Housing and Council Tax benefit. 

Health visitors work with every family who has a child under th age of 5.

They visit mothers in their post-natal period and offer emotional support. They organise and run baby clinics and post-natal grops. They also advise on health matters, feeding problems and behavioural difficulties. They also monitor growth and do developmental assessments. These are recorded in the red book which all mothers are given.

Health visitors also adivise on family issues.

Social services register and check EYFS providers. They work with familys who have problems and involve other agencies as necessary to prevent the child going to care.

Where child protection or violence is an issue, the monitor and asses the situation to make sure the children aren't at risk. The children are removed from the environment if necessary.

Social services put children in to care either permantly or temporarily, if parents are able to look after the,. They arrange long and short term foster care and are invovled in the adoption prodcess and supper adopted children and their families.

Social services also help with parenting problems, giving advice, support and running parenting classes.

They help with financial probelms, telling the benfits avaliable. They encourage those who are apathetic, embrassed or want to keep thier independence to claim benefits they are entitled to.

Social services staff also help with filling in forms.