Social work and related services

Tender description

Portsmouth City Council has awarded a contract for the provision of an intensive family support service for children and families in the city. The aim of the intensive family support service is to support families with multiple and complex needs to make the changes necessary to improve their outcomes and avoid the need for statutory intervention. The contract will commence on 1.7.2017 and will be let for a 3-year period with the option to extend for up to 2 further years in increments to be agreed. Any such extension will be dependent on service performance, the agreement of both parties and the identification of funding after the end of the national Troubled Families programme in March 2020. The Intensive Family Support Service will support families with all of the following issues: — Crime and anti-social or other challenging behaviours (i.e. child to parent violence or aggression). — Poor school attendance or a lack of school-readiness. — Difficulty keeping children safe from harm or the risk of harm. — Worklessness (including youth unemployment) and insecure housing. — Domestic abuse. — Health problems. The service will be an integrated part of the city's offer to children and families delivered by Portsmouth's locality-based Multi-Agency Teams (MATs). As such, a provider is sought that will provide a skilled and experienced workforce with a background in children and families support work who will be supervised and managed by the Council's managers. The successful provider will support at least 605 families over the three-year duration of the contract, delivering a service that is based on the city's principles of early help.