Family Based Solutions

Joseph Lettieri, Project Manager, 5 Chase Side Crescent, Enfield, Middlesex, EN2 0JA Website: familybasedsolutions.org.uk Email: admin@familybasedsolutions.org.uk Phone: 0208 363 6262

THE AGENCY Family Based Solutions (FBS) is a voluntary sector charitable organisation which was established as PAARS in 2012, following recognition that child to parent violence was an issue in many of the referrals received by schools. Although completely independent, FBS works in close cooperation with local services, receiving much of their work in this way. The team includes a range of practitioners at any one time, including family therapists, child and adolescent psychotherapist, schools workers, counselling and social work students, and a large group of trained volunteers, drawn from the local community.

CRITERIA Catchment area is London borough of Enfield, Haringey and Barnet. Age range 6 – 18 years.

REFERRAL Referrals from agencies by completion of form, or families can self refer, and will be accepted providing they meet the criteria (ongoing abuse outside the normal expected range of behaviours). The current waiting list is 4 -5 months.

THE SERVICE The programme uses trained Solution Focused Practitioners where the focus is on the clients preferred future rather than the unchangeable past and is tailored to each family’s needs. Intervention is open-ended as long as it is having an impact. If other needs are identified, families will be referred for more specialist help. Meetings with family members take place in the home, the office or via video conferencing. Many take place in the evenings or on Saturday’s in order to accommodate the whole family. As well as individual support, there are peer support groups, and education and careers support for both children and parents. FBS workers can provide an advocacy service for parents in meetings. They offer training in the Solution Focused Approach and presentations to outside organisations. FBS has also introduced the NSPCC DART (Domestic Abuse Recovering Together) programme. DART is a ten week programme designed help families who have been through abusive relationships and are now ready to open a new chapter in their life’s. The programme was introduced as the team found one of the factors leading onto child to parent abuse is domestic abuse. The team are hopeful that by working with the family from an earlier stage will end the behaviours from becoming too entrenched. FBS have introduced the FBR (family based relationships) programme starting in May 2021. The programme is aimed at adult clients who want to change their abusive behaviours and is run over 10 weeks. The aim is for each participant to replace negative behaviours with solution behaviours so the family can have healthier relationships and the children have more positive experiences of family life.

EVALUATION The programme data is collected 6 monthly for funding purposes. An external evaluation took place in 2016. Statistics monitoring types of abuse, age of young person, factors such as previous DV, are available on request.

OTHER INFORMATION FBS (as PAARS) has featured on TV and radio on a number of occasions, using interviews with practitioners and parents. Further information on the FBS Facebook page: facebook.com/familybasedsolutions Twitter: @fbsolutions12 You Tube: www.youtube.com/c/FamilyBasedSolutions Instagram: fbsolutions Linkedin: Ayse Adil | LinkedIn

Data entered: May 2015. Reviewed and updated: May 2021