Early Intervention Foundation comments on Home Office's announcement of local areas to receive Trusted Relationships Fund investment

Press note: embargo, 00:01 Wednesday 22 August

The Home Office has today announced the local areas in England that will receive funding via its Trusted Relationships Fund, a £13 million investment to support vulnerable children by ensuring they have positive adult role-models in their lives if they are at risk of sexual exploitation and abuse, gang exploitation and peer/relationship abuse.

Donna Molloy, Director of Policy and Practice at the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF), says:

“It is great to see new funding being used to grow system capability for trusted relationships at the local level. The evidence tells us that positive relationships with a trusted adult can support the development of children’s skills, coping strategies and confidence. 

“For young people vulnerable to child sexual abuse or exploitation, there is a strong logic for thinking that trusted relationships between a practitioner and a child provide can act as a protective factor. This new funding provides a great opportunity to test this, and to build the evidence about which ways of working are most effective in building trusting relationships with vulnerable children. We hope the government will support and encourage local areas to evaluate the impact of their plans.”

*ENDS*

Contact:

Mark Ballinger
Head of Communications, EIF
E: mark.ballinger@eif.org.uk
T: 020 3542 2481 (switchboard)

Notes:

• The £13-million Trusted Relationships Fund was established in February 2018, to reduce young people’s involvement in exploitation and abuse, as victims and/or perpetrators, by facilitating consistent, trusted relationships between young people and the adults who are there to support them.
• EIF’s 2018 review of the evidence base relating to how trusted relationships can be built and sustained is available at: http://www.eif.org.uk/publication/building-trusted-relationships-for-vulnerable-children-and-young-people-with-public-services-2/
• The Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) is an independent charity that champions and supports the use of effective early intervention to improve the lives of children and young people at risk of experiencing negative outcomes. For more information, see: http://www.eif.org.uk/