MP Visits Local Falkirk CHILDREN 1st Service

Michael Connarty MP visited his local Family Group Conference Service in Falkirk, run by leading Scottish child welfare charity CHILDREN 1st. Michael said he was very impressed by the work carried out by CHILDREN 1st through their Family Group Conference service in Falkirk following a recent visit to their Falkirk office.

Children 1st are one of the Charity partners for which the Scottish Postcode Lottery raises money and they have already received over Five hundred thousand pounds from the partnership.

Claire Stewart of the Scottish Postcode Lottery explained that Children 1st were one of the five Scottish partner charities that benefit. Tom Roberts of Children 1st explained that they funded 40% of the Falkirk service and Falkirk Council covered 60% of the costs.

Michael met the local administrator Marie Donald and had a lengthy discussion about the Family Group Conference service with Lorraine McKillop, the Service Manager for Children 1st.

Afterwards Michael said, “The service provides a process in which family members can work with professional support who are independent of the statutory agencies to work out an agreed plan which will deal with the problems in a child’s life and allow them to stay in or return to their family home. The fact that 99% of children and families successfully carry out the plan and the child and family stay together is a sign of the success of the service. It puts the child at the centre of the service and the family and avoids the major traumas and high costs of family break–ups. I cannot praise the process or Children 1st enough, and it is great that the Scottish Postcode Lottery not only produces local winners in the postcode lottery, but also makes families and children winners through this service.”