Need for Early and Targeted Support
Neglect threatens children’s health, dignity, and trust, and can lead to serious injuries, compromised health, and reduced opportunities later in life. Child Welfare Services need more evidence-based interventions to prevent neglect and provide better follow-up to families facing complex challenges.
Family Partner – a Reliable and Stable Support
The Family Partner model provides early, trust-based support to families through a dedicated professional who serves as a consistent ally. By coordinating services and prioritizing key needs, the families’ caregiving capacities are strengthened, conflicts are reduced, and parents develop increased coping skills.
Target Group
The intervention targets families in which children live under potentially harmful caregiving conditions, because the parents face multiple life challenges yet demonstrate potential for positive change.
Impact Performance
The intervention was thoroughly evaluated by Oslo Met during the pilot. 45 families were enrolled in the pilot, of which 22 received the Family Partner support and 23 were in a control group, as one of the objectives was to test a randomized control trial set up during the pilot.
The repayment of the investment in one of the municipalities was connected to Oslo Met’s recommendation on further roll-out and evaluation of the intervention. The pilot showed promising results for the participating families, and the impact goal was reached and the outcome contract fully paid back.
The municipalities also report good results from the pilot and that they will continue working with the method after the pilot.
Visit the website for more information about the Family Partner.