A TRAILBLAZING programme to help troubled families in North Yorkshire has been hailed a success.

North Yorkshire County Council’s scheme identifies families in need of intervention in a bid to reduce anti-social behaviour, crime and other issues.

So far the Developing Stronger Families’ programme has scored successes in a number of areas, including helping children back into school where they were previously playing truant or excluded, reducing high levels of youth crime and anti-social behaviour and helping get adults back into work.

Through the scheme in North Yorkshire, the council has now identified 439 of the hardest to help families who will be targeted for intervention by the programme.

David Cameron recently praised the work of the local authorities, including North Yorkshire County Council, which is implementing the payment-by-results programme. The Prime Minister said the results showed that no family was beyond help.

He said: “For some, that starts with attending school every day, staying out of trouble with the police and taking practical steps towards work, just as other families do.

“Every month, more and more of the most troubled families are getting help to deal with these issues head-on in North Yorkshire. That is good for those families, your community and our country as a whole.”

County Councillor Tony Hall, executive member for children’s services said: “This success is a tribute to the dedication of our front-line workers and the quality of our staff in continuing to challenge and support families.

He said: “We can see that the highly targeted approach being used as part of the Developing Stronger Families programme, with one family, one plan and one worker, is proving highly successful.

“This model will form, long term, the basis of an early intervention strategy for transforming the day to day living of our most complex and challenging households across the county.”

The Head of the Troubled Families programme, Louise Casey said: “By dealing with all the family members and all of their problems in a tough and intensive way we are finally getting to grips with problems which may have persisted for generations, giving hope to people who have often been failed in the past and relief for the communities that suffered the effects of their behaviour.”