The government is to pilot a scheme to enable young people leaving residential care to live near to, and retain links with, their children's homes.

Called Staying Close, the scheme stops short of offering those in residential care the same right to stay in care until they are 21 as those in foster care receive under Staying Put arrangements.

Please visit Funding Central for a range of information about grants, contracts and loans

If you want a successful EBP, don’t improvise

Congratulations. You have made the choice to implement an evidence-based programme (EBP) in your community. It’s a wise and fiscally responsible choice since only EBPs deliver proven and predictable outcomes.

Evidence-based intervention keeps girl at home

Everyone was afraid that the young person would have to be taken into care. Chloe was not attending school. She was using drugs and staying out all night. Recently, she had ended up in the hospital after a night of drinking and drugs. Her caregiver was at her wit's end. But as luck would have it, she and Chloe were about to be referred to a brand-new program in their community—Multisystemic Therapy (MST).

MST-CAN and MST-BSF are helping families with exceptionally complex and difficult problems

Ms. Anderson wrote a letter to express her appreciation. Here is an excerpt from that letter:

A difficult case with few good options

He and his family were on my caseload. He was on my mind. He had previously been a “looked-after child” [in foster care] and was now at risk for becoming one again. The boy was displaying several behavioural problems—increasingly becoming involved in gangs and drugs. He had been stabbed, and his whole family was concerned about his safety and well-being. His stepfather was isolating him from other family members, and the parents were constantly arguing.

To read the full article please visit: Children & Young People Now

A child talks about his experience with Multisystemic Therapy

Capturing the voice of the young person is often difficult in MST, but it is a critical part of the story that begs to be told. Community stakeholders and families alike often ask, “What about the young person? How does this program impact his or her life?” During a recent event, the Trafford MST team in the UK found a unique way to bring the voice of the young person to life.

The Times (Rosemary Bennett) reports that schools will have a mental health champion appointed to them to identify and treat children suffering from anxiety, depression or other mental health issues. Over 250 schools have agreed to the trial with a teacher, nurse or teaching assistant to be selected to act as the “point of contact.” That person will work with their local NHS children’s mental health service and aim to get the correct treatment for a child.

STEPS-B (Services for Teens Engaging in Problem Sexual Behaviour) is a research study investigating a form of intervention for young people and their families where young people are displaying problem sexual behaviour. These young people may also be having difficulties at home, at school and sometimes with the law.

Two new MST teams in North Yorkshire and Sandwell & Dudley have successfully completed their training and are ready to take referrals.

Click here to read the update from Tim Bryson, Essex SIB Director

A charity has praised the “reliability” of outcomes from two models developed in North America that requires intense work with families and vulnerable children.

Action for Children, in its annual ‘Impact Report’ published this week, praised the Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and multi-systemic therapy (MST) methods it is using to work with children.

Click here to read the article by Sarah Cassidy, Education Correspondent at The Independent

Poor mental health is the largest cause of disability in the UK. It’s also closely connected with other problems, including poor physical health and problems in other areas like relationships, education and work prospects. If we want to improve these aspects of people’s lives, we’ll need to make improvements to mental health and wellbeing.

MST FIT in the UK