HUNDREDS of troubled families across East Yorkshire have been helped to turn their lives around.
New figures released by the Government show 1,014 families in Hull have been involved in the Troubled Families programme, along with 386 in the East Riding, since 2012.
They have all received support to help put absentee pupils back into school, reduce antisocial behaviour and provide more work opportunities for adults.
Ministers claim the figures, which mirror other parts of the country, underline the success of their Troubled Families programme.
Now, Hull City Council and East Riding Council have been included in a new round of funding to help even more families.
Local authorities are paid up to £4,000 per family on a payment-by-results basis.
Families are identified for support if they are involved in youth crime or antisocial behaviour, have children who are excluded from school or are regularly playing truant and have at least one adult on out-of-work benefits.
The aim is to not only cut crime, get children back into school and adults back into work, but also reduce the overall cost to the taxpayer for dealing with all their problems.
Councillor Julie Abraham, portfolio holder for children, young people and education at East Riding Council, said: "I am very enthusiastic about the principles of the Troubled Families initiative and that agencies that deal with vulnerable families should work together to bring about real change to improve the lives of children.
"In the East Riding we have had success in working with partners to turn around the lives of a large number of families and their children and we have received national recognition for our supporting families programme.
"Providing focused, intensive support, sometimes several times a week, through a key individual is appreciated by families who can get confused when dealing with numerous agencies.
"This is common sense, and public services working at their best."
Victoria Hanley, partnerships and commissioned services strategic manager at East Riding Council, said: "Since the start of the national Troubled Families programme, the council and our partners have helped to turn around the lives of 386 families we promised to help.
"These households are some of the hardest-to-help families living within the East Riding.
"Through the supporting families programme, the authority is now seeing children back in school when they were previously truant or excluded, youth crime and antisocial behaviour significantly reducing across these families and adults moving off benefits and into work for three months or more."
Head of the Troubled Families programme Louise Casey said: "This works because it is joined up and it seeks to simplify things rather than make them more complicated."
