Families First for Children (Pathfinder) Programme

Walsall is one of seven new areas in England selected to pilot the ‘Families first for children’ pathfinder programme – a national reform to children’s social care, which is designed to keep more children in safe and loving homes and improve child protection.

As a ‘pathfinder’ area, Walsall will test new ways of working to help more children stay with their families, and further strengthen the Early Help partnership to ensure families suffering from issues such as domestic abuse, addiction, and poor mental health, can receive Family Help at the earliest opportunity.

The programme will build upon Walsall’s existing multi-agency Family Safeguarding Service and Early Help offer.

The pathfinder programme is part of the government’s children’s social care reform strategy, Stable Homes, Built on Love, which aims to revolutionise the current system to put more focus on early intervention and best practice child protection where required.

The programme follows an Independent National Review to Children’s Social Care in 2021, which highlighted ways the social care system could better support children and families in England.

Please click the link to read the article – Walsall selected for national pilot to transform children’s social care

Find out more information on the Families first for children (FFC) pathfinder programme and family networks pilot (FNP) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)