Council improves services for families
Families across Herefordshire can expect to see a more co-ordinated approach to the services they receive thanks to a number of events organised by Herefordshire Council and its partners.
Over the last couple of months, the council has been organising workshops to bring together agencies, organisations and families to talk about local needs and discuss how services should be provided to meet those needs.
Parents and family support groups came together in December to agree priorities for helping families. Priorities were agreed which included more support for parenting, help for children transferring from primary to secondary education and improved co-ordination between the organisations and agencies working with families.
More than 50 people representing voluntary and community organisations, the health service, the police and organisations working with families and children also came together at Hedley Lodge in Hereford on 30th January to discuss how they could improve services to children and families who have additional mental health needs.
From an early age, the emotional health and well being of children can have an impact on their future life chances. Issues such as dealing with bullying, bereavement and family separations, can trigger future social, psychological and educational problems, if not supported and managed early on.
Workshop participants were taken through a number of case studies. Working in groups, they identified the range of mental health needs families have in Herefordshire, and discussed how current services could be used to meet those needs.
Cllr Don Rule, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “The Council wants to provide services that meet need, and that’s why it is so important for us to talk to families and share ideas with organisations already offering help and support.
“Much of the support required is already there, but needs to be co-ordinated.
This isn’t just about cutting duplication, but about understanding need, bridging gaps where services aren’t currently available and making sure those we already have in place work better, improving quality, and making sure people can access the services they need wherever they live in the county.
“We also need to make sure we are consistent in how we work together and the messages we give to the people we support need to complement each other so that families feel well supported.”
Notes taken from both workshops will be used to help develop draft strategies for family support and additional mental health services delivered by the Council and its partners across the county in order to reshape services in 2008.
