1. Success in Social Work Practice
The Troubled Families Programme. A roaring success and a total failure

2. The Programme Stage One 2012 (DCLG 2012a) Eligibility criteria
Model of intervention
Payment by results (PBR) (DCLG 2012b)
Varied implementation models
Are involved in crime and anti-social behaviour
• Have children not in school
Have an adult on out-of-work benefits
• Cause high costs to the public purse ─ Local discretion… to add other families.8
A key worker was usually assigned to each family as a coordinator with various state services
and families said had worked for them, the guide noted five key factors:
1. A dedicated worker, dedicated to a family
2. Practical ‘hands-on’ support
3. A persistent, assertive and challenging approach
4. Considering the family as a whole – gathering the intelligence
5. Common purpose and agreed action.10
The aim of the programme was to ‘turn around’ the lives of these families. This would be achieved either when:
• They achieve all 3 of the education and crime/anti-social behaviour measures set out below where relevant: ─ Each child in the family has had fewer than 3 fixed exclusions and less than 15% of unauthorised absences in the last 3 school terms; and
A 60% reduction in anti-social behaviour across the family in the last 6 months; and
Offending rate by all minors in the family reduced by at least 33% in the last 6 months.; OR
• At least one adult in the family has moved off out-of-work benefits into continuous employment in the last 6 months

3. Government Success Story
99% of families engaged with were ‘turned around’(Bate (House of Commons) 2016)
Ontology and ‘being turned around’
Rhetorical epistemology
PBR returns as evidence of success

4. The Research Failure Story
Process, impact and economic evaluations
Impact study ‘unable to find…any significant impact’ (Day et al 2016: 38)
Quantifying outcomes
‘Gross’ and ‘net’ positive change
Empirical approaches to success in social work

5. But, Families’ Views 22 families, semi-structured interviews
improved coping skills and resilience;
widened access to entitlements and specialist support;
improved financial circumstances;
improved parenting confidence;
improved social confidence; and
crisis avoidance (Blades et al 2016)

6. Service Users, Practitioners and Success
Smaller, local studies; semi-structured interviews of staff and families, ethnographic approaches
Stories of transformation, help and hindrance (Jones et al 2015 in Davies 2015, Thoburn 2013)

7. Towards a definition of success…
What is success in social work?
Who is in a position to identify success?
How do they evidence success?
Are success and effectiveness the same thing?
Open group discussion and comment

8. References
Bate, A. (2016) House of Commons Briefing Paper The Troubled Families Programme (England). London. House of Commons Library. (3 3 17)

9. References
Blades, R., Day, L. and Erskine, C. (2016) National Evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme: Families Experiences and Outcomes. London. Department for Communities and Local Government.

10. References
Day, L., Bryson, C., White, C., Purdon, S., Bewley, H., Kirchner Sala, L. and Portes, J. (2016) National Evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme: Final Synthesis Report. London. Department for Communities and Local Government

11. References
Davies, K. (2015) Social Work with Troubled Families: A Critical Introduction. London. Jessica Kingsley.
Department of Communities and Local Government (2012a) Working with Troubled Families: A guide to the evidence and good practice. London. DCLG.

12. References
Department of Communities and Local Government (2012b) The Troubled Families Programme: Financial Framework for the Troubled Families programme’s payment-by-results scheme for local authorities. London. DCLG.

13. Thoburn, J. , Cooper, N. , Brandon, M. and Connolly, S
Thoburn, J., Cooper, N., Brandon, M. and Connolly, S. (2013) The place of “think family” approaches in child and family social work:
Messages from a process evaluation of an
English pathfinder service. Child and Youth
Services Review