AT LEAST 140 troubled families in Keighley were helped last year as part of the district’s Families First project.

Public bodies teamed up to intervene with families facing a multitude of issues including crime, unemployment, domestic violence, poor health and education troubles.

The aim of the project is the turn round families by offering a range of specialist services to both parents and children.

The project, overseen by Bradford Council and using government cash, intervened with more than 1000 children across the district.

These included 50 families in Keighley West ward – which includes Braithwaite and Bracken Bank – 41 in Keighley East and 31 in Keighley Central.

More than one in 10 of the families had someone involved in crime or anti-social behaviour, while more than four out of five had a child in need of help. In 70 per cent of cases someone in the family was unemployed.

Families First, also known as Early Help, is part of the government’s National Troubled Families Programme and is bringing £10.7 million to Bradford district over five years.

Bradford receives £1,800 per family, an upfront payment of £1,000 and a further £800 if their intervention is deemed successful.

The government believes the initiative will save the estimated £8 billion annual cost of reacting to problems caused by the families, including the cost of children taken into council care, the consequences of domestic violence, and welfare benefits for 18 to 24-year-olds.

Dedicated workers aim to develop a relationship with the whole family, building trust with them and getting to the underlying problems.

Issues included domestic violence, family conflict, mental and physical health problems, poor school attendance, crime and anti-social behaviour, and preparation for work.

The report presented to Keighley Area Committee this month (March) stated that the council ‘turned around’ 93 per cent of the families that it worked with.