THE Government is making up to £3 million available to help turn around problem families in Worcestershire.

As many as 900 families could benefit after Worcestershire County Council signed up to the Government’s troubled families programme.

The scheme will see problem families get support to get children off the streets and into school, reduce youth crime and anti-social behaviour and help adults back into work. Families will get a key worker to give them targeted support.

The programme operates on a payment-by-results basis, with £4,000 available for every family successfully turned around. This means that up to £3 million will be available to Worcestershire over its three-year duration.

The Government’s £448 million scheme is being funded by a number of departments in a bid to link up different services and tackle a problem that drains an estimated £9 billion a year from public services – about £75,000 per problem family.

Success will be measured by indicators including school attendance, reductions in anti-social behaviour and youth offending and getting adults off benefits and into work.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has welcomed the county’s decision to sign up.

“Together we can finally tackle a problem that has long been grappled with,” he said. “We cannot go on spending so much taxpayers’ money on such a small number of families without turning lives around once and for all. This programme is a unique opportunity to do so.

“Everyone will benefit from getting kids off the streets and into school, getting parents off benefits and into work and cutting youth crime and anti-social behaviour. But it is also right that we will only pay councils in full if they deliver the results that we require.”

Worcestershire County Council leader Adrian Hardman said: “Worcestershire’s troubled families programme will be delivered as part of our early help strategy, helping families to nip difficulties in the bud before they escalate.

“We are also commissioning new services which will offer intensive work with families to empower them to build on their own strengths and find solutions to the challenges they face.”