The aim of this paper is to present Family Support as the optimal choice for the long-term well being of children of families in great stress. (This may be the primary professional resource or may be in combination with alternative care).

These families are described elsewhere as “multi deficit”, “multi problem”, “hard to reach”, “hardcore” and “excluded families”, meaning excluded from the day to day services of our community. Not only do these families fear rejection and failure so do not attempt to use ordinary community services and resources such as community houses, libraries, maternal and child health nurses etc., but these services feel uneasy and poorly equipped to handle these families and their perceived needs.

A multi-service agency is required to effect change where there has been an inter-generational cycle of deprivation which gives rise to a “poverty of experience.”

We will demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach through a case study where long-term fostercare seemed a likely outcome.

This paper presents a distillation of the knowledge about families and methods of working with them, that has grown and developed over the past 10 years at Careforce Outer East.