The Intensive Family Support Service launched in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Fife and East Lothian in 2020, followed by West Lothian and The Scottish Borders in 2021 under the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal Integrated Regional Employability and Skills (IRES) Programme.
The service is delivered by six multi-agency services, including Children 1st, Barnardo's, and Fife Gingerbread, all offering a combination of intensive, general, and specialist activities tailored to the needs of the whole family.
The service takes a holistic whole family approach to working with families, supporting each individual within the family to progress, as well as implementing whole family activities that build a support network and improve family dynamics to enable families to provide effective support for each other.
All services are embedded within the local community - in schools, early years centres, and community spaces, ensuring accessibility for families in need of support.
Families engaging with the Intensive Family Support Service are supported by an integrated team who bring different specialisms together under one single entry point. The core offer includes family support, advice, and employability, however, several of the services offer additional approaches including youth work, family learning and substance misuse specialist support.
