Family therapy helps young people out of care in Essex

Published: 9 April 2019

From crisis point to turning point 

A new report from the Rees Centre, University of Oxford, highlights the impact of Multi Systemic Therapy (MST) in helping to keep young people out of care in Essex. The evaluation looks at quantitative data collected by Essex County Council for 302 young people who received MST.

The MST service was delivered via a £3.1M Social Impact Bond over five years to 380 adolescents at the edge of care in Essex. Social services referred young people aged 11 to 16 at risk of entering the care system to the service, who display anti-social, offending behaviour or other conduct disorders. The therapy is delivered over a period of 3–5 months to young people and their parents by specially qualified therapists, who each work with around ten families a year providing 24/7 support. The MST service was provided by Action for Children, a national children’s charity.

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