Together for Families
What is Together for Families?
Together Families is a partnership model that will transform how children, young people and families are supported across Northern Ireland. It shifts the current system from reactive, high-cost statutory intervention to earlier, community-based support so that families can access the right help at the right time, closer to home.
Together for Families was developed under the Children’s Social Care Services Reform Programme and informed by learning from a significant Northern Ireland Lottery programme delivered between 2014 and 2021 – Reaching Out – Supporting Families and the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services led by Professor Ray Jones which reported in June 2023.
Why it matters
Across Northern Ireland, families are facing increasing pressures – including poverty, mental health challenges and rising demand on services. Too often, support only arrives once problems have escalated to crisis.
At March 2025
- There were 4,188 children in care with admissions to care up by 24% since 2020/21
- There were 2,283 children on the Child Protection Register.
- It is projected that the looked after population will grow by a further 18% (around 750 children) by 2029.
Together for Families responds by strengthening early, joined-up support that:
- Prevents issues escalating for children and families.
- Reduces pressure on crisis services
- Improves long-term outcomes for children and young people
- Delivers better value for the public purse
What’s changing?
- £29.2 million of public-sector transformation funding working alongside £30 million of The National Lottery Community Fund investment.
- Stronger collaboration across services, reducing fragmentation and duplication
- A whole-family approach, recognising that children’s wellbeing is linked to the wellbeing of parents and carers
- Learning and culture change to support long-term system transformation
What the Programme delivers
- Strengthened Family Support Hubs – additional resource to the 29 Family Support Hubs that facilitate access to early support for families across Northern Ireland. The additional resource will enable Hubs to provide direct support to families.
- New Enhanced Family Support Service – funding from the National Lottery Community Fund will support the delivery of 15 Enhanced Family Support Projects (3 in each HSC Trust area). These projects, delivered in partnership with the VCSE, will provide early support to families whose needs go beyond what Family Support Hubs can offer but who fall below the threshold for statutory intervention.
- Intensive family support – support for families where children, who are already known to children’s social care services, are at risk of being taken into care or to support the safe return home of children already in care by making existing services available to more families and by implementing a regionally agreed model.
- Family Support Services List – to support all parts of the service model by creating a menu of services operating across the full range of family need available to families who are referred to a multi-agency panel operating in each HSC Trust.
- A model that evolves to meet need - Together for Families will be supported by a robust evaluation framework which will be put in place in the early stage of the Programme. The collection and analysis of data and a focus on the delivery of improved outcomes for children and families will be central to the Programme.
When can I find out more?
Arrangements are being put in place now to support delivery of Together for Families. Further information will be available here shortly. If you would like to be added to the distribution list for the Together for Families newsletter you can email: StrategicReformPMO@health-ni.gov.uk
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