Kensington Palace:
The Duchess of Cambridge will visit Action for Children to see their
work with families
22nd February 2017
The Duchess of Cambridge will visit two Action for Children projects supporting vulnerable families in Wales. This will be her first engagements with Action for Children since becoming its Patron in December, following on from Her Majesty The Queen.
Action For Children cares for disadvantaged children from across the UK, from before they are born until they are into their twenties. The organisation helps all types of families, supporting children and carers through fostering or adoption, and intervening early to stop neglect and abuse. The charity also makes life better for children with disabilities. It’s 7,000 staff and volunteers operate over 600 services, improving the lives of 390,000 children, teenagers, parents and carers every year. The Duchess, who has made supporting vulnerable families a key area of focus, has previously visited Action for Children programmes at Cape Hill Children’s Centre in Smethwick in 2015. The visit on 22nd February will allow Her Royal Highness to see two of the successful projects in Wales, where Action for Children helped 13,000 children and young people last year.
The Duchess will first visit Torfaen to see MIST, a child and adolescent mental health project which works specifically with children who are living in care with foster families or birth families. The service works with both the young person and their carers or birth family to address complex mental health needs, intervening where it becomes clear the child is at risk of being placed in residential or institutional care, with the aim of keeping the child in their local area, and having as normal a life as possible. MIST has been running for 12 years. It is commissioned by Health, Social Care and Education and hosted by Action for Children – Gweithredu dros Blant.
The Duchess will then visit the Caerphilly Family Intervention Team (FIT) to learn about their work with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, problems with family relationships and those who have or who are likely to self-harm. The Duchess will view the team’s family therapy work which helps families understand the reasons behind certain behaviour. It supports them to manage feelings and behaviours using creative techniques that are tailored to meet individual needs. The project is delivered by Family Support Practitioners who are trained and supervised by a Clinical Psychologist and Systemic Psychotherapist.
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