Team Leader, Glasgow Intensive Family Support Service (GIFSS)
Glasgow City Health & Social Care Partnership (GCHSCP) has worked closely with Community Justice Glasgow Partners – (Barnardos, Includem and Action for Children – to create a new way of supporting families.
The Glasgow Intensive Family Support service (GIFSS) test of change was an exciting time limited new partnership that aimed to deliver on Glasgow’s Family Support Strategy which set out an overall vision for family support within the city:
“Working in partnership to deliver support services at the right time for families to help them flourish.”
The service set out to shift the balance of care; supporting children to stay with their families and within their local communities, following the publication of the Independent Care Review, that stipulates
“Scotland must do all it can to keep children with their families”.
The Independent Care Review published 7 documents in February 2020:
- The Promise reflected what over 5,500 care experienced children and adults, families and the paid and unpaid workforce told the Care Review in the hope that Scotland was listening. It told Scotland what it must do to make sure its most vulnerable children feel loved and have the childhood they deserve.
- Pinky Promise (for younger readers)
- The Plan explains how this change must happen.
- The Money and
- Follow the Money explain how Scotland can invest better in its children and families.
- The Rules demonstrates the current legislative framework and how it must change to achieve The Promise.
- Thank You – thanking all who contributed to the Care Review.
CLICK THE PICTURE LINKS BELOW TO READ THE DOCUMENTS:
Additionally, the Glasgow Youth Justice Strategy (One Glasgow – Whole Systems Approach) aims to provide interventions early to support and build resilience amongst children, young people and their families to improve wider outcomes. For young people in conflict with the law interventions that support both the young person and their family is a well evidenced approach to diverting young people from becoming further involved in anti-social and offending behaviour.
Strength Based GIFFS Principles – GIFSS followed a ‘Framework of Practice’ which embedded strength based and family centred approaches into every aspect of its work. Together the Local Authority and third sector partners developed new shared working practices and embedded their STRENGTHS aims and principles into their day to day work, working in partnership with families and ‘doing with and not to’.
S
Strengths
Our aim is to focus on the strengths of young people, families and communities. We will do this by developing bonds and establishing networks of support to sustain positive change.
T
Trust
We plan to build trust between agencies, families and the community they live in. We will do this by demonstrating transparency within our values, shared goals and objectives.
R
Responsive
We will strive to develop relationships that will be individually focussed and based on the best possible strategies to keep families together at home. Every family deserves to thrive and feel valued by the wider partner networks, and within their community, and wider family.
E
Empowering
We recognise families are the experts in their own lives. We will promote families to have a voice and choice, and where we can recognise inequality, develop confidence/ self-worth, resilience and support families to autonomously engage with partner agencies and their community.
N
Non-judgemental
We believe in acknowledging diversity and being respectful of family values. We will do this by actively listening to everyone without judgement or prejudice.
G
Goals
We will work alongside families to develop goals that are achievable and hope inspiring. These goals will be routed within the values of the family and their community.
T
Team
The team consists of committed individuals, family members, and the wider community who will work together to achieve a common goal. Families are at the centre of all the supports and decision making.
H
Hope
We believe that all families have assets and capabilities that can be used to foster hope and inspire meaningful change.
S
Sustainability
We will support families to develop resources within their home and the wider community which will have a lasting impact on the quality of their lives.
A Framework of Strengths Based Relationships
The GIFSS partnership was committed to co-producing a strengths-based, family-centred intensive family support service practice model. The Team articulated three distinct areas that could be attributed to how they worked with families – VOICE, VALIDATION and HOPE.
Together they designed a strengths-based engagement and assessment model, which continually evolved with families as they move through their intensive family support journey. As a framework of practice, it was a road map to how the service would work alongside families. Voice Validation and Hope places the family at the centre of their story.
Voice – We recognise that families are the experts in their own lives. It is vitally important that we promote families to have a voice and choice at every stage of our engagement. Each family member will have an important part to play and must feel as if their voice can be heard. This is even more important as often families will be at their lowest ebb and may feel excluded from not only services but at times their own families and communities. That is why in the process of developing a relationship with the family that their voice remains at the beginning of our engagement. It is vital that we listen to families.
Validation – It is core to the engagement process that the family/ individuals feel that their feelings are acknowledged. It is important that a family’s role and importance whether this be in challenges and/ or successes are recognised explicitly as a foundation for establishing an engagement that is respectful, empathic and built on trust. To validate is to accept an individual as important without judgement or prejudice. The conversation will aim to refrain from shame and blame within the family and move towards more validating language and strength-based communication. By validating and understanding we can nurture and empower families to see their own strengths and assets.
Hope – All families have assets and capabilities that can be used to foster hope and inspire meaningful change. By working alongside families, goals can be developed that are achievable and hope inspiring. These goals will be routed within the values of the family and their community. Each time we meet with families it is important that they feel that our time together has importance and that there is hope for them as a family moving forward.
GIFSS: The Family’s journey: empowering strengths and resilience – From the period Feb 2020 – Feb 2021: GIFSS worked with 39 families made up of a multitude of brothers and sisters and wider support networks. Although the most significant element of their work remained supporting families within their communities the service also worked to support transitions home for those young people from local authority care placements. In total:
- 11 children were supported back home or to kinship care (27.5%);
- 24 children supported to remain at home (60%);
- 2 children supported to remain in foster placements; and
- 2 children accommodated but GIFSS remain involved to work towards a planned return home.
GIFSS family survey – GIFSS has collated 13 online smart surveys from the families that they worked with to gather feedback on the service provided. These views below are taken from a mix of young people and parents/ carers.
Making Community Connections
- 77% of families reported that they felt more able to make connections within their local area
- 50% reported feeling more included;
- 60% reported feeling safer at home or in the community;
- 50% reported feeling more active;
- 40% reported feeling healthier; and
- 40% reported improvements in their schooling for their children.
‘I feel more confident now and able to do things for myself.’
Validating and Giving Families a Voice
- 100% of our families described the GIFSS worker as a good listener and supportive;
- 80% described the GIFSS worker as caring, friendly, trustworthy, and doing what they promised – they said the worker had good ideas and didn’t give up;
- 60% described the GIFSS worker as believing in me;
- helping me to be heard; and
- helped my family to be heard.
‘Knowing that they are available whenever is very reassuring and calms anxieties of ever feeling like there is no one to help or listen.’
Responsiveness to Glasgow’s Families’ Needs
‘I appreciate the support from the service and knowing I can contact any time, is a real help and support.’
- 62.5% reported the most helpful aspects to the service were:
- getting advice/ help when needed;
- immediate response from a real person;
- solving problems without involving police/out of hours social work team; and
- freephone support number
- 75% also reported GIFSS made them feel reassured.
- 70% said they were there when needed and flexible.
‘I appreciate the support from the service and knowing I can contact any time, is a real help and support.’
‘Would just like to say that GIFSS have been amazing for my son and cannot thank them enough!’
- 100% of our families would recommend GIFSS
- 80% of families reported that they found GIFSS more helpful than other services
Flexible Supports that Revolve around the Lives of Families
- 100% of our families reported that availability of evening and weekend support was vital to them.
- 90% reported using weekend supports.
‘The weekends can be long for my child especially in today’s current circumstances. Having someone be able to spend some time out of the house at weekends has been amazing.’
‘Everything I have asked they have gone above and beyond and give alternatives, or find other agencies to give advice if it is not something they are 100% on.’
Sustaining Long Term Change for Families and Developing Meaningful Hope for the Future
- 70% reported improvements in family relationships;
- 70% reported that GIFSS helped the family identify their strengths;
- 60% reported being happier and having improved confidence in life; and
- 80% reported less worries.
‘GIFSS have followed through with everything they said they would and built good relationships with our family.’
