Working Families‟ parents and carers helpline

Objective

Supporting parents and carers to achieve a work/life balance

Description of service

Telephone helpline, website and email-based advice service on employment rights and benefits. Coaching and casework in discrimination cases.

Helpline: 0800 013 0313
Email: advice@workingfamilies.org.uk
Web: www.workingfamilies.org.uk

Target audience

Low income/disadvantaged parents and carers.
Reach: ethnicity broadly corresponds to population; majority of callers are 25-49; 90 per cent of callers are female; up to 10 per cent of callers are disabled & up to 10 per cent have disabled children; at least 50 per cent of callers are low income (using Joseph Rowntree Trust indicators).

Scale

200-300 a month

Cost

Free

Evidence of impact and quality

Caller feedback is gathered via a researcher who is not part of the helpline team. Callers for whom we do casework are followed up to measure outcomes. We are audited by the CLS.

Useful insights

We hope to expand our service to callers so that we can do more work on income maximisation, supporting families so that they have more information on the interaction of hours of work, childcare, earnings and benefits.

We offer 4 distinct services at The Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships

• Relationship Counselling
• Couple Psychotherapy
• Parenting Together therapy
• Psychosexual Therapy
• Divorce and Separation Consultation

Objective

To support couples and parents to find new and constructive ways to manage relationship problems and conflict, improving their family life and the lives of their children.

Description of service

Face to face therapeutic services, delivered from our central London centres. We offer services for couples and parents experiencing difficulties in their relationships. People can come alone or with their partner or ex partner, whether they are gay or heterosexual, married or single offering offer a safe and confidential setting in which to explore challenges and difficulties

Opening hours, web address

www.tccr.org.uk
appointments@tccr.org.uk
parentingtogether@tccr.org.uk
020 73801950
Open Monday to Friday 8.30am – 9.30pm at 70, Warren St W1 and 7, Artillery Lane, E1

Target audience

All adults over the age of 18 who want help with a current or recently ended relationship, with parenting issues or with sexual problems
Our clients are a diverse group of people. Last year, of the 1982 people seen in the clinical service -

• 55% described themselves as white British (compared to a London-wide figure of 58%)
• The remainder of our clients were from diverse ethnic backgrounds which represented the range of ethnicities in London.
• The majority of our clients classed themselves as „heterosexual‟ (90%) and 4% as gay, lesbian or bisexual.
• 48% of our clients were male and 51% female, with 0.1% classifying themselves as „transgender‟.
• 28% of our clients were co-habiting, 10% were non-cohabiting partners, 46% were married, 1.5%
• in a civil partnership and 10.5% were separated or divorced.
• Just over half of all clients were in full-time work with 12% currently unemployed.
• Most of our clients are between 26 and 55 as the chart below illustrates. We have more work to do in reaching an older population.

Scale: current number of users

2,000 per year

Cost to customer

Couples are charged according to their income on a sliding scale. Our service is unique as there is no minimum fee and we aim to see everyone whatever their financial circumstance. Fees will be negotiated at the first appointment.

Evidence of impact and quality

All our therapists are trained for a minimum of 3 years. Our training programmes are validated by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, The College of Sexual and Relationship Therapy, The British Psychoanalytic Council and they are accredited by the University of East London

Evaluating our Impact – do we really make a difference?

We have routinely measured our outcomes since April 2009. Every client who comes for help is asked to complete a range of psychometric measures at their first appointment, at 3 month intervals, and at the end of therapy. This rich dataset has given us much new information about the impact of our work.

On the CORE measure,(Clinical Outcomes for Routine Evaluation) which aims to measure current psychological distress , 59.4% of clients at Intake are in a „clinical‟ population (with 10.7% having „severe‟ or „moderately severe‟ problems). By end of sessions this has decreased to 42.9%. At intake, 40.7% of our clients were in a „non clinical‟ (or healthy) position, by end of sessions this had increased to 57.1%.

Clients are also asked to complete GRIMS (The Golombok- Rust Inventory of Marital State) which measures marital satisfaction. Our evidence now shows significant results in improving our client‟s relationship after 6 months of therapy.
“It has been an incredible help. I honestly think we would have split up without it. The counselling has been hard work, but the fact that we each stuck with it has helped demonstrate to each other our commitment to our marriage.”

S.TO.P. (Start Treating Others Positively)

Objective

To reduce the levels of domestic violence in the West Yorkshire area by providing education and support for perpetrators and victims to improve relationships and quality of family life.

Short description of service: 50 words max

We work directly with male and female perpetrators who attend the weekly groups voluntarily. We offer support to victims and run a Women‟s Support group. We provide training, supervision and share best practice with other organisations.

Practical Information: e.g HL number/ opening hours, web address

Website: www.stoponline.org
Email: administrator@stoponline.org
Tel: 0113 2446007
Office hours: 9.30am – 3pm Monday – Friday

Target audience

Target Audience
Perpetrators of domestic violence groups: adults who who want to change their violent or abusive behaviour towards their partner or others.
Women‟s Support Group: women who are, or have been, victims of domestic violence or abuse in the home.
Young People‟s Anger Management: early intervention for under 18′s who are beginning to develop negative behaviour patterns.
Current Reach
See table below.

Scale: current number of users
Since September 1997 we have worked with 1,755 individual male clients in our perpetrator groups and we have worked with 422 females in our women‟s perpetrators group since it began in June 2000.
So far in 2011, 105 new clients and 49 existing clients have attended our men‟s anger management groups and the groups are running at capacity with an average of 9 men attending each of the 3 weekly groups.
24 new clients and 15 existing clients have attended the Women‟s Anger Management group with an average of 8 women attending each week.

Cost to customer

Perpetrators of domestic violence groups & Women‟s Support Group: we ask for donations of £5 (employed) or £2 (unemployed).
Young People‟s Anger Management: £10 per session.

Evidence of impact and quality

STOP was founded by Kathy Grogan in 1989 to provide a facilitated self help group for men who were abusive or violent towards their partner to help them to change their negative behaviour. It became a registered charity and full time project in 1997 and support from a variety of funders allowed the project to continue growing over the following 5 years before further funding from the Big Lottery Fund
was secured in 2009, giving the organisation £500,000 over 4 years.
In our 2010 Service User Consultation 90% of male respondents stated that the frequency and extent of their verbal, physical and emotional abuse had significantly decreased or stopped altogether. 78% of partners confirmed that the level of verbal, physical and emotional abuse they received from their partner had significantly decreased or stopped altogether. All partners surveyed stated that they felt safer since their partner joined the programme.
Our positive results to date have demonstrated the valuable investment to be gained through working with perpetrators to help them explore their attitudes, beliefs, behaviour and destructive responses towards their partner and to encourage them to learn new and constructive ways of managing their violent and abusive behaviour.

Current Reach: Perpetrators of Domestic Violence Groups
Male
Female
Gender
81%
19%
Ethnicity
White
78%
61%
Black
8%
20%
Asian
8%
7%
Chinese
0%
5%
Mixed Race
5%
7%
Declined to answer
2%
0%
Have a Disability
2%
5%
Have Children
84%
90%
Total Number of Children
346
92
Employment Status
Employed / Self-employed
53%
24%
Unemployed
36%
51%
Retired / disabled / student / homemaker
1%
7%
Declined to answer
9%
17%

Respect – Dads Space 121, supervised online child contact service

Objective

To enhance the relationship between fathers and their children post separation

Short description of service: 50 words max

The service works like a secure and expertly moderated face book. It is used by parents where contact has proved problematic. The service is used in contact disputes facilitating contact between parent and adopted children.
The child and parent can exchange messages, photos and play online games in an environment that is fully moderated. A significant and ongoing support is available for parents and carers from Dads Space staff

Practical Information: e.g HL number/ opening hours, web address

Phone 020 7549 0583
Referral forms can be down loaded from http://www.respect.uk.net/pages/professionals-referring-to-dads-space-1-2-1.html

Target audience

Separated families

Scale: current number of users

70
8

Cost to customer

Cafcass referrals are funded
Refuges have free access
LAs – one off fee of £800

Evidence of impact and quality

No reported further abuse of the child or resident parent via Dads Space or linked to Dads Space since the service began in 2009.

Ormiston Children and Families Trust

Objective

Supporting children and families through challenging times

Short description of service: 50 words max

Working directly with children of prisoners who are often traumatised by the separation from their parent. They face bullying, stigmatisation, fear, guilt and are more likely to end up in prison themselves. We also work directly with families with complex problems eg anti-social behaviour, youth crime, drug and alcohol abuse. We offer children‟s centre support for very young families, teenage parents, parents who are victims of domestic abuse and parents who have had children taken into care. We also support Gypsy and Traveller children to ensure they have access to health, education and safe housing.

Practical Information: e.g HL number/ opening hours, web address

www.ormiston.org

Target audience

East of England

Scale: current number of users

100,000 last year (2010-11)

Cost to customer

All our services are free

Evidence of impact and quality

PQASSO. HMPI reports, OFSTED inspected etc.

Other useful insights

Ormiston is a regional deliverer but a national player when it comes to speaking out against the disadvantages many children are facing when they are born into intergenerational poverty and crime.

The Place2Be

Objective

Our mission is to enhance the wellbeing and prospects of children and their families by providing access to therapeutic and emotional support in schools, using a proven model backed up by research.

Short description of service: 50 words max

The Place2Be offers emotional and therapeutic support for children and their families, (as well as training for professionals working in the community settings with families) where emotional and mental health issues might impact on the short and long term well-being of children

Practical Information: e.g HL number/opening hours, web address

The Place2Be Head Office
13-14 Angel Gate
326 City Road
London
EC1V 2PT
Tel: 020 7923 5500
Fax: 020 7833 8083
Email: Enquiries@theplace2be.org.uk
Web: www.theplace2be.org.uk
Our Head Office is open from 08.30-17.30 Monday to Friday

Target audience:

All Children and their parents in schools where we are based, and where parent, child or teacher has identified need for therapeutic support. Of the children/parents for example using support: 35% BME; 57% male; 46% free school meals; 44% lone parents. We keep extensive data on our full range of services available.

Scale: current number of users

We currently work in 20 areas across 172 schools across the UK, and our services are available to 58,000 children and their families.

Cost to customer

The services are free to child, and their parent. Schools co-commission the service (covering on average 60% of the cost) alongside financial support from local authority, grant-making trusts and corporate sponsors.

Evidence of impact and quality:

We gather extensive data on all aspects of our service and prepare thorough impact analyses on the work with parent and child. This includes:

• Impact analysis for individual and group work in each area through Goodman‟s SDQ and Scaled Concerns
• Child/teacher survey of school wide Place2Talk service
• External evaluation through CORC using our data to measure comparative effectiveness of our work
• Cost benefit analysis on the short/long term benefit of our work

All this is accountable to our Research Advisory Group, attended by senior research professionals.

Other useful insight relevant to KITM

We offer targeted support for children and their parents within a universal model of support for the whole school population. This includes: 1 to 1 counselling for children and their parents; The Place2Talk – drop in support for any child in school; Group support for peer relationship issues; Circle time support for children and their teachers; Consultative parenting support; Consultation to teachers concerning issues of children‟s well-being; Referral on to agencies offering support to families.

One Plus One – Information Centre on Relationships (online)

Objective

Improve the quality and quantity of press coverage of relationship issues through reliable evidence based information service. Raise awareness of relationship issues, providing tailored information for people to use in enhancing their own knowledge of relationships and de-stigmatising help-seeking.

Short description of service

Our Information Service is a vital source of evidence based information and has played a valuable role in influencing attitudes towards relationships over the 7 years it has been operating. We are in process of improving navigation to ensure it is the „go to‟ resource for teachers, researchers, journalists and students. Each audience will have its own gateway and specifically tailored resources.

Practical information e.g HL number/ opening hours, web address

www.oneplusone.org.uk/icor

Target audience:

Teachers, students, journalists, practitioners, researchers, and academics

Scale current numbers of users

ICOR currently attracts between 500 and 600 visits to its home page per month. In addition to this there are approximately 100 page views per month for the Research and Policy News pages. This activity to be increased to reach a target of 800 a month.
923 monthly subscribers to e bulletin

Cost to customer

Free at present

One Plus One thecoupleconnection.net

Short description of service

Online relationship support for couples wanting to understand and their relationship issues better and strengthen their couple relationship –includes wide range of articles, forum moderated by trained counsellors , exercises, quizzes, expert chat, and videos

Practical information e.g HL number/ opening hours, web address

www.thecoupleconnection.net

Target audience:

All couples wanting to strengthen their relationship
Particular focus on new parents, parents of disabled children, fathers.
Two micro sites for men and couples living apart (armed forces/prisoners/work etc) are currently under development with aim of broadening audience.
Data from the registered users – 6300 (although not everyone replied to the questions)
1. Age – average 31.8 years, women 31.2 years, men 34.2 years2.
2. Gender – women 76.1%, men 23.9%
3. Ethnicity (census definitions) –
69.8% English/Scottish/Welsh/NIreland/British
11.2% Any other White background
2.7% Irish
21.1% Indian
1.9% Any other mixed race/multiple ethnic background
1.6% Any other Asian Background
1.4% Chinese
6.3% – all other (<20 people per group)
4. Users with children – 57.1%
5. Fathers – 58.0% of male users were fathers (or 14.3% of entire sample are fathers).
6. Mothers – 57.3% of female users were mothers (or 43.2% of entire sample)
7. Household income (before tax) – based on survey (note 204 completed the survey) – not recorded at registration
£15,000 or less – 18%
£15,001 to £35,000 – 24%
£35,001 to £55,000 – 21%
£55,001 or over – 18%
20% preferred not to say
To present this as „those who answered the question‟ – i.e. excluding the 20%, the figures are as follows:
£15,000 or less – 22%
£15,001 to £35,000 – 30%
£35,001 to £55,000 – 26%
£55,001 or over – 22%

Scale current numbers of users

Approx. 25,000 users per month

Cost to customer

Free

Evidence of impact and quality

Evaluation attached

One Plus One
theparentconnection.org.uk

Objective

Raise awareness of impact of separation on children – help parents to co parent and better manage relationships after parting.

Short description of service

This site is based on both research and skills used in mediation; giving information, tools and exercises to help parents understand a range of issues that may be affecting their parenting and relationship with their ex-partner and child. The site can support parents through the difficult process of separating and parenting after parting.

Practical information e.g HL number/ opening hours, web address

www.theparentconnection.org.uk
24/7

Target audience:

Parents who are either in process of separating and those who are already separated and want support and advice on a range of co-parenting issues.
No demographic data collected at present but site is being further developed

Scale current numbers of users

Approx. 1000 users per month

Cost to customer

Free

One Plus One „Not in Front of the Children‟ (precise name to be confirmed) as currently in development,

Objective

To update 2001 „Not in Front of the Children‟ literature review publication.
The original ‘Not in front of the children’ publication presented over 200 research findings relating to conflict in families and how it affects children.

Short description of service

An updated review of OPO‟s „Not in Front of the Children‟ is being undertaken for completion in early 2012. This extensive review of the international literature examines the latest evidence on the detrimental impacts that parental conflict can have on children. A particular innovation in this review is the collation of evidence on interventions seeking to reduce conflict that have developed over the last decade.

Practical information e.g HL number/ opening hours, web address

The 2001 publication can be accessed here: http://www.oneplusone.org.uk/PUBS/Publication.php?Ref=6

Target audience:

The review will be of interest to a wide range of health and family sector practitioners and policy makers.

Scale current numbers of users

Copies of publication to be confirmed.

Cost to customer

To be confirmed.