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40
THE WELFARE AND PREVENTION OF BREAK-UP OF FAMILIES
Of the many social services available to promote the
welfare of families, a high proportion are provided under the
National Health Service Acts and are under-written by Housing Acts,
the National Assistance Act, 1948, and the Children's and Young
Persons' Act, 1963, Section 1. The need to co-ordinate the
provision of the various services has long been recognised,, A
joint circular issued to local authorities in July 1950, by the
Home Office, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education,
gave suggestions for the setting up of local machinery to effect
such co-ordination through meetings under the chairmanship of a
co-ordinating officer. The medical Officer of health is the
appointed officer for the borough.
The majority of families are self-sufficient or may
require a modicum of external help at particular times, e.g. illness
giving rise to the need for a home help or a recuperative holiday,
but there are some families whose social equilibrium is so finely
balanced that any stress may put them "at risk". Such families
often have multiple difficulties that can only be treated by infinite
patience and skill, and require early diagnosis to ensure early
treatment. This is likely to be more effective and to carry a
higher chance of success in terms of prevention of break-up as well
as being more economical of time than intensive work carried out at
a later stage when break-up may be imminent. The health visitor
plays an important part in early diagnosis and is supported in
treatment by specially trained social workers within the department.
Some families, however, are already known to workers in other
departments, e.g. child care officers, probation officers, or may
come to light through other symptomatic behaviour such as failure to
pay rent or erratic school attendance. The formulation of a
co-ordinated treatment plan may be made at case conferences called
by the medical officer of health on being notified of families "a,t
risk" and the general position and policy reviewed at co-ordinating
meetings.