Money will help projects for looked after children
Children’s charities have received an early Christmas present in the form of £3.38 million from the Scottish Government.
The money will be spread between 27 groups which support looked after children and vulnerable families to help prevent children becoming looked after.
Among those receiving the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund money (see below for full breakdown) are Aberlour, Includem, Mentor Scotland and the NSPCC.
The funding will also cover eight specific projects, including an innovative scheme to help looked after children use the law to maintain contact with siblings and a project that provides therapeutic interventions for looked after children and other vulnerable young people in Glasgow.
Mark McDonald, minister for childcare and early years, made the announcement during a Scottish Government debate on improving the care experience for looked after children.
Mr McDonald said: “Over the decades we have learned a lot about what works when it comes to intervening in the lives of children who have been neglected, abused and traumatised.
“We are making real progress through Getting It Right for Every Child, changing culture and practice to prevent children coming into care and to intervene early when they are at risk of becoming looked after.
“This work is vital and must continue, which is why I can announce investment of £3.3m in 2017/18 by this government for organisations working alongside statutory agencies to directly support better outcomes for looked after children and also, provide support for vulnerable families that may help prevent children becoming looked after.”
Full breakdown: where the cash will be spent
Eight projects are being funded directly in the area of Looked after children or contributing to preventing children becoming looked after. These are:
CommunityLaw Advice Network awarded £25,100 for its SiblingContact for Looked After Children project in partnership with Siblings Together and Reunited (STAR). The project will give those supporting and working with looked after children throughout Scotland an understanding of how the law can be used to maintain sibling contact and will give them tools and resources so they can use early interventions, overcome barriers and facilitate appropriate sibling contact .
KibbleEducation & Care Centre awarded £43,912 for its Trauma-informedCare for Scotland's Young People project. This involves creation of a strategic plan for work with trauma-experienced young people, with a focus on the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics - a trauma-informed approach to youth care developed in the USA.
Quarriers awarded £69,935 for their NorthEast Glasgow Brief Therapeutic Interventions Families Project. The project aims to test the impact of brief therapeutic interventions in improving the life chances of looked after children/young people at home in the north east of Glasgow.
SleepScotland awarded £39,649 for its SoundSleep (Looked After Children) project. This project will address the recognised issue of sleep problems in looked
after children and the impact this can have on their wellbeing.
Starcatchers awarded £94,150 for its CreativeKin project whichwill deliver an innovative initiative to support kinship carers and their families in Ayrshire and Moray. Working with Children 1st, it will offer a programme that builds on carer’s parental capacity, strengthens attachment and contributes to positive health and wellbeing of both the carers and their children.
Actionfor Children awarded £168,497 for its ClackmannanshireChildren and Families Environment Programme (Ccafe) project which aims to provide an early intervention/preventive service through a creative engagement approach.
CHILDREN1st awarded £109,442 for its Signsof Safety and Family Group Conferencingproject which will use these approaches to build families capacity to engage with and influence decision making processes and better support their children.
Outsidethe Box Development Support awarded £48,140 for its Peer Support for Parents project that aims to increase awareness of needs of families where a parent has poor mental health; ways families can increase resilience in their communities to have better mental health and wellbeing, reduce isolation and cope better; develop ways for families to be able to make more use of peer support within families and their communities.
| How the cash will be spent | |
|---|---|
| Aberlour Child Care Trust | £54,000 |
| Adoption and Fostering Alliance Scotland | £95,000 |
| Adoption UK | £60,000 |
| Befriending Networks | £47,000 |
| Birthlink | £55,000 |
| Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland | £23,000 |
| The Fostering Network | £145,000 |
| Includem | £80,000 |
| Mentor Scotland | £85,000 |
| Scottish Mentoring Network | £136,000 |
| Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum | £184,000 |
| St Andrew's Children's Society | £178,500 |
| Up-2-Us Ltd | £66,000 |
| Who Cares? Scotland | £254,500 |
| Circle | £70,000 |
| Crossreach | £258,000 |
| Families outside | £135,000 |
| NSPCC | £100,000 |
| Parenting Across Scotland | £100,000 |
| Quarriers | £36,000 |
| Stepping Stones For Families | £83,000 |
| Zero Tolerance | £40,000 |
| Homestart UK | £197,000 |
| Outside The Box | £34,000 |
| Mellow Parenting | £194,000 |
| Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs | £172,000 |
| Scottish Women’s Aid | £102,000 |
