More than 300 people have received support at home through a new social service which aims to "preserve families", some of whom are at risk of having children removed from their care.
The Home Based Therapeutic Service (HTBS) was rolled out nationwide at the end of 2016.
Presenting data for 2017, service director Claire Sammut said that throughout the year, her team worked with 111 families, consisting of 321 individuals.
Of these, 81 family cases (237 people) were referred in 2017 alone. A fifth of the 2017 referrals came from the Northern Harbour and another fifth from the Southern Harbour.
The cases of 14 families who received therapeutic or parenting interventions were closed in 2017.
Families are referred to the service through the Child Protection Investigation Services, Specialised Child Monitoring Services and the Looked After Children’s Services, among others.
The people who qualify for this therapy include stressed families who are being investigated by child services and are at risk of having their children removed from their care unless their family situation improves.
There are also families where children have already been removed from the parents’ care but social workers feel there is potential for relocation. Other cases include foster or adoptive families where there is a risk of a placement breakdown.
Addressing a conference during which an evaluation report on the service was launched, Foundation for Social Welfare Services chair Alfred Grixti said HTBS was all about family preservation.
“It challenges us to rethink how we provide support and social services… I come from the education sector, and I recall we used to speak of broken families, so I value the emphasis on family preservation,” he said, adding that the strength of HTBS was its multi-disciplinary and evidence-based approach.
“The more we work this way, the better the chances of success – not in terms of numbers, but in terms of keeping more families together – and the future becomes brighter for all these people.”
What they said:
"Had we not received help from this service, I believe I would have separated from my husband since I was stressed out."
"(The professional) was always by my side whatever the situation. Sometimes she also phoned me on Saturdays. When I was in prison she was the first one who came to visit. Had she not come to visit me I would not have known what was happening with my children."
"The fact that she comes to my house has helped to reduce my anxiety and fears that I’m going to be late. I would be in my own room, in my own space. It’s good because I can be myself."
I need someone to help me out with housing… For example, I don’t know how to fill in a housing application since I don’t know how to write. What am I going to do with a housing application? When you are very worried about such things, therapy cannot really help since you will be focused mainly on the practical problem… It will be killing you from the inside."