Therapeutic service to reduce the impact of poor parental mental health

Liverpool Early Help Services provide support to families with emerging needs. We have identified that there is a need to reduce the numbers of children and young people who enter care in Liverpool. The successful service provider will work with parents who have identified mental health needs to improve their wellbeing which will allow them to parent effectively. Improvements in parenting will prevent children entering care.

The intention is to re-commission a therapeutic service to follow on from the pilot programme awarded in February 2023 (DN641238).

The successful Provider will work with 16 families selected from Social Care, who have children who are at high risk of becoming looked after. The families are likely to be on Child Protection plans and not showing evidence of change or be in pre proceedings with a trajectory towards court proceedings, which will be seeking to remove the children from the care of their parents.

The psychological service will be commissioned to provide mental health well-being practitioners and clinical psychologists. The mental health professionals will work alongside Outreach Family Support Workers and other professionals from the Early Help Hubs and provide intensive support which will be underpinned by mentalisation therapy. The approach will seek to reduce risk and need through an intensive therapeutic intervention which will see families move down the continuum of need.