Published 08 June 2023
West Dunbartonshire Community Planning Partnership (WDCPP) is investing £604,000 in a new range of supports ensuring families can access help where and when they need it.
Whole Family Wellbeing Fund (WFWF) is part of the Scottish Government’s £500 million investment transforming the way family support is delivered and ensures ‘person-centred holistic support’ is available to help those in need.
WDCPP will use the funding to develop a range of “universal, targeted and specialist services offering help and support, which will allow all families to flourish.
A multi-agency steering group has been established planning family support with early intervention and prevention at its core. This will enable support from services, to parents and young people, which is timely and accessible.
A Whole Family Wellbeing Support Officer has been appointed and three family hubs will be set up in Clydebank, Dumbarton and Alexandria to improve family wellbeing, reduce inequalities between the most and least disadvantaged communities, reduce the number of families needing crisis intervention and reduce the number of children and young people living away from their families.
Feedback from meetings with parents and Kinship Carers and information from planned focus groups with key partners including the Champions Board, Y-Sort-It WDC Youth Council and Young Ambassadors will ensure carers and all young people’s groups are represented and their needs proactively considered. The information and views gathered from the focus groups will help to develop family support available across West Dunbartonshire via the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund. Families will also contribute to the development and planning of services ensuring they are sustainable and lead to long term positive outcomes for children and young people.
Councillor Martin Rooney, Chair of West Dunbartonshire Community Planning partnership, said: “This is an opportunity to transform services for families and children and develop a strategic approach that focuses more on prevention. It is essential all our partners work together to re-align our resources and priorities to meet the needs of children, young people and families with early help as we progress towards 2026.
“The Community Planning Partnership will receive funding each year to 2026 to support the changes to our services for families and young people. We must work together to make the changes to ensure the needs of families and young people get the right support at the right time.”
Councillor Michelle McGinty, Vice Chair of West Dunbartonshire Community Planning Partnership, said: “I am pleased to hear of the progress we have been making and the plans that are being developed by the multi-agency steering group. Our focus will be on ensuring positive outcomes for children and the introduction of our new family help centres will be a crucial part of our new approach as they will offer families a local base to visit for support and guidance.
She added: “The diverse range of specialist services that will be available across the Council area will include Neurodevelopmental workers; Includem; Education Outreach workers; Specialists in Family Group Decision Making; Speech and Language Therapists; Occupational Therapists and Family Nursing staff.”