Vol. 505 No. 7
20 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the proposals, if any, he has for the new family services project to develop new methods of service in social welfare offices, based on the one-stop shop concept; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14583/99]
Pilot projects to enhance information services for families are being developed in three local offices of my Department – Waterford, Cork and Finglas in Dublin. The projects build on the one-stop shop concept with the aim of providing improved access to information for families through the social welfare local offices. The service will be available to all families in the localities.
The overall objective of the family services project is to provide a high quality information service about the range of supports available to families from State agencies and from the community and voluntary sector with a particular emphasis on the services available locally.
The expanded range of family services on which information will be available includes marriage counselling and marriage preparation programmes, bereavement counselling and support services, information about parenting issues, including local childcare services where this information is available, and the state family mediation service.
It is proposed to develop within the pilot project an enhanced programme of support to be offered to a small group of customers with complex needs. This aspect of the pilot service will focus on the most vulnerable families, for example, very young lone mothers, other parents rearing children without the support of a partner and dependent spouses in households with children depending on social welfare payments. It is hoped that the additional support involving individual attention, customised information and enhanced access (an appointment will be set up where possible) to services and supports which would assist the family will enhance the capacity of those in the most difficult family circumstances to improve their personal situations.
Preparations for the introduction of the pilot project in the autumn are well under way. Regional managers and the project leaders in Cork, Waterford and Finglas are putting in place links with local agencies such as health boards, local authorities, vocational education committees and the voluntary and community groups that work with families in their localities. The latest information technology will be used to support the family services project and to enhance access to information for individuals, families and their communities. Last week, I launched the "Green Book" a directory of over 400 local services in Cork which was compiled jointly by my Department and Cork Community Development Institute for the family services project. The directory is an invaluable resource to underpin the service and similar directories are being compiled in Finglas and Waterford. Project leaders are participating in training to equip them with the skills and knowledge to meet the new family service objectives.
