Are we starting to 'think family'? Evidence from a case file audit of parents and children supported by mental health, addictions and children's services

ABSTRACT

The Health and Social Care Board in Northern Ireland commissioned an audit of social work case files from across service teams to establish whether Think Family Northern Ireland (Think Family NI) and FFP have become embedded across three different services (Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs), and addictions and children's services). The audit sought to identify the extent to which these services co-worked to support families;highlight good practice;and identify areas for improvement. A random sample of files was selected from the three services in four of the five Health and Social Care Trusts, the main statutory provider of services in Northern Ireland. Data were collected from 108 case files. The COVID-19 lockdown ended fieldwork prematurely and electronic data from some files were unavailable (n = 12). Of the 103 families in the final sample, the mother was the primary focus in 85% of cases and, in total, parents had caring responsibilities for 258 children, the majority of whom were aged under 16 years. Joint planning was only evident in 18.5% of cases. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)