Response to Louise Casey's new approach to 'troubled families'
18 July 2012
MEDIA STATEMENT: 18 July 2012
Action on Addiction statement in response to Louise Casey’s new approach to ‘troubled families’
Jo Adams, Head of Families Plus at Action on Addiction, today (18 July 2012) said:
“We welcome the £448m targeted by the government at helping 'troubled families'. Families Plus, part of Action on Addiction, is already working closely with local authorities to support them in meeting these families' needs.
“We know that substance misuse, both of alcohol and drugs, is often a contributory factor causing long-term financial and social problems for whole families, children and future generations. Furthermore, children of substance misusing parents are seven times more likely to develop an addiction themselves. If action is not taken to help these families, the cycle is likely to continue unbroken.
“Action on Addiction works in partnership with local authorities and other voluntary organisations to deliver our Moving Parents and Children Together, (M-PACT) programme which works with families to help break this cycle. It addresses the enormous problem of isolation for both children and adults by bringing families with similar problems together to help them recognise, express and address their problems.
“M-PACT has been independently evaluated to deliver significant results including improved school attendance and educational achievements, parents seeking treatment for their addiction, and changes in family behaviour which have resulted in children being taken off the ‘at risk’ register.
“Programmes like M-PACT are proving themselves to be a cost effective way of helping families, broader communities and future generations but government funding is essential to make them accessible for families across the UK.
“We hope that by putting this topic in the spotlight Louise Casey and the government will help drive forward our mission to break the harmful cycles experienced by Britain’s most at risk families.”
Ends/
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Notes to Editors:
About Action on Addiction
Action on Addiction is the only UK charity working across the addiction field in research, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, professional workforce development, professional education and support for families and children.
One in three people suffer from an addiction. It breaks up families, damages communities and destroys lives. In some way it touches us all. At Action on Addition we believe that it is important to take an integrated and dynamic approach to improving the understanding of addiction and people’s responses to it.
Action on Addiction has treatment centres throughout England as well as a specialist family support service and an expert training centre for the treatment of addiction. We fund important and innovative research into addiction, working closely with the National Addiction Centre (part of the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London) and the Mental Health Research and Development Unit at the University of Bath.
The Families Plus Team provides family focused services working with children, parents, carers and friends of people living with addiction. We do this through residential retreats and our unique programme, M-PACT (Moving Parents and Children Together). M-PACT uses the ‘whole family’ approach, enabling children to talk about their feelings. This is often the first time an addicted parent has heard the impact of their behaviour on their children. M-PACT supports both parent and child to come to an understanding of the part played by parental substance misuse on the family.
Action on Addiction has been helping people with addiction problems for over 25 years. In January 2012 HRH the Duchess of Cambridge became patron of Action on Addiction.
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