A Targeted Solution for Keeping Families Together
Inicio Families First is a powerful new partnership between Inicio and Families First, a specialist intervention service created to reduce the number of children entering or remaining in care.
Together, we form a responsive, trauma-informed, and evidence-based service that works alongside local authorities to keep families together, improve outcomes for children, and reduce the pressure on overstretched social care systems.
At the heart of Inicio Families First is a clear and urgent mission:
To support local authorities in keeping children safely within their families, reduce the number of looked-after children, and significantly lower public spending in children’s services.
These moments often require intensive daily support that many social care teams do not have the capacity to provide. That’s where we come in—offering hands-on, tailored interventions that change entrenched patterns, rebuild family stability, and create lasting positive outcomes.
We work with local authorities facing increasing challenges, including:
Our Core Objectives
01
Keep children safely with their families wherever possible
02
03
Reduce the number of children entering or remaining in care
04
Help local authorities improve outcomes and reduce legal and placement costs
05
Provide intensive, daily interventions that support stretched social work teams
06
Enhance the evidence base for court proceedings by showing all alternatives have been explored
07
Deliver trauma-informed support that empowers sustainable family
change
Intensive support for families where children are at immediate risk of entering care. We offer daily interventions, help implement safety plans, and attend child protection conferences, core groups, and strategy meetings to stabilise situations and prevent family breakdown.
We work with families through Public Law Outline (PLO) and care proceedings, offering advocacy, emotional support, and practical assistance to help parents engage in the process and make meaningful change. We contribute to court evidence and participate in LAC reviews and hearings.
Our “Ready for Change” programme offers structured, time-limited (typically 13-week) intensive support for parents whose children are in care. We work towards safe reunification and contribute reports that support discharge applications and demonstrate sustained change.
We provide robust advocacy for parents whose children have been removed. This includes help navigating legal processes, understanding rights, improving communication with social services, and maintaining connections with their children.
Tailored parenting support that explores parental experiences and addresses behaviours that affect parenting capacity. We work collaboratively to meet local authority targets and ensure children’s needs are central.
We deliver responsive, wraparound support—daily visits, implementation of safety plans, and real-time feedback. This ensures child safety, reduces care durations, and provides reassurance to both families and professionals.
Inicio Families First was born from aligned values and a shared commitment to long-term positive change.
Inicio brings over a decade of national experience in providing accommodation, life skills, and support to young people and families, while Families First contributes a targeted, proven model of early intervention that tackles crisis points head-on.
Together, we:
By working with Inicio Families First, local authorities gain:
Join Us in Building Stronger Families
While we recognise that care is sometimes necessary to protect children, we believe that, wherever possible, children belong with their families. Our work is focused on breaking cycles of removal, instability, and trauma by giving families the tools and support they need to thrive. Inicio Families First offers a proven, people-focused, and financially sustainable way to transform outcomes across children’s services. Let’s work together to keep more families together.
Get in touch with us today for any enquiries or questions
Follow us on LinkedIn to keep up to date with us
