Volunteers who look after children at risk of being taken into care say their work is ‘vital, not a luxury’ as the council looks to end its contract with them.
Safe Families offer emergency support as well as other practical and emotional help.
Lincolnshire County Council says other services now perform the same role, but the organisation believes families will be worse off.
“It would be a massive loss if we were unable to get referrals from children’s centres anymore,” regional director Helen Crandley told the Local Democracy Reporting Service and reporter Jamie Waller.
“The risk is we aren’t able to get in touch with the families that really need our help.
“Our volunteers make such a big difference in families’ lives, with 90 percent of them seeing their situation stabilise or improve.
“Children’s centres are stretched and can’t spend hours in each home. Professionals are often 9 to 5, but volunteers are there when they go home, at evenings and at weekends.”
Families they work with are often ‘anxious and overwhelmed’, and may be dealing with domestic violence, mental health problems, or complicated family situations.
“They sometimes have a distrust of council services and can feel a sense of judgement from professionals,” Helen said.
“Our volunteers often have experience of care themselves, and it’s a totally different type of relationship where families know they want to be there.
“Psychologically, knowing your children are with a trusted person in the local community is very different to them being taken into care.”
Helen says ending the contract – worth £133,000 per year – would lead to higher costs overall.
“There might be short-term savings, but we save tens of thousands of pounds per family in health, criminal justice and children’s services,” she said.
Safe Families will look for alternative sources of funding if the contract ends.
Coun Natalie Oliver, executive member for children’s services, said she ‘strongly rejects’ the idea that families would be less supported.
“The changes we’ve put forward would improve efficiency and service delivery,” she said.
“It’s become apparent that most families being supported by Safe Families are not at the edge of care, which was the intended purpose of the service, and that families need support sooner.
“By intervening earlier and more effectively, we can often prevent issues from escalating in the first place.
“Over the last few years, we’ve greatly strengthened and expanded our in-house family help team. I can reassure you that they are more than capable of meeting the needs of families without the support of Safe Families.
“They are all highly skilled professionals with a wealth of experience in helping families overcome any challenges they might face.”
She said that council services were already working with the majority of the same families.
