DCMS pledges £16m in Social Impact Bonds to tackle drug dependency & support children in care
Melanie May | 19 October 2017 | News
DCMS has pledged £16m to support ten projects that will work to combat drug and alcohol dependency, and support children in care.
Announced by Minister for Sport and Civil Society Tracey Crouch this week, the money is the first round of investment from the £80 million Life Chances Fund. It will be delivered by the Big Lottery Fund and used by the projects to provide specialist services for children in foster care and residential homes, and help drug and alcohol dependent adults find full-time work, reduce addiction and cut unnecessary A&E admissions.
Three of the projects are run by Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC), West London Alliance, and Bright Residential for Children. FDAC will receive £6,052,434 to work with the family court system to support families whose children are subject to care proceedings due to parental substance misuse and domestic violence in the home. West London Alliance will receive £1,200,000 to deliver placement services to people with drug and alcohol addictions who are out of work, so they can gain and retain competitive paid employment, and Bright Residential for Children will receive £1,118,520 to fund the way residential placements for children and young people in Warwickshire are delivered.
The other projects are run by: East Midlands Children’s Services Social Investment Platform, Integrated Family Support, Fostering Better Outcomes, Cornwall Frequent Attenders Project, Plymouth City Council, Edge of Care and Reunification, and Early Intervention Care Prevention.
All ten projects are Social Impact Bonds, which means money will only be transferred when the projects meet agreed targets. The investment is in addition to funding from 36 local authorities, which will provide a combined £37.6 million to the ten successful projects.
Minister for Sport and Civil Society, Tracey Crouch, said:
“This funding will benefit some of the most vulnerable people in society and provide vital support to help them transform their lives. The UK is a world leader in using social impact bonds to make a positive impact in society and these projects will achieve real results in communities across the country.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.