Health Technology Wales has been published which supports the adoption of intensive family preservation programmes (IFPP) in Wales.
Health Technology Wales carries out appraisals of non-medicine health and social care technologies and publishes national guidance on their use in Wales.
It carried out an appraisal of IFPP which are short term intensive intervention programmes that can be put in place during a period of crisis when children are at risk of entering the care system.
The aim of IFPP is to provide direct support to a family by improving skills and resilience. This may help resolve crises and allow children to stay within their family environment rather than entering care.
Health Technology Wales's guidance concludes that the evidence supports the adoption of IFPP for families in crisis. It found that the use of IFPP reduces the risk of out of home child placements.
There is some uncertainty about the impact of IFPP on children’s emotional wellbeing, however, there appears to be no evidence of harm.
The economic analysis carried out as part of the appraisal of IFPP found there could be potential for cost savings of up to £12,171 per child due to the avoidance of out of home placements.
