Description & contact details of each FDAC
Around the UK there are currently 13 specialist FDAC teams, working in 21 courts and serving families in 37 local authorities.
Find out more about the work and impact of these FDACs in the 2022/23 annual report.
Birmingham and Solihull
Birmingham and Solihull FDAC launched in February 2021, this is a joint initiative between the two authorities Birmingham Childrens Trust and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. This is currently a two year pilot funded by the Department for Education and further contributions made by the Police Crime Commission that has made it possible for a Womens Aid worker to be part of the multi-disciplinary team.
Birmingham and Solihull FDAC have a range of specialists within the team consisting of social workers, family support workers, a domestic abuse specialist, mental health specialist, substance misuse specialist, a psychologist, two psychiatrists, parent mentors and children / young people peer mentors.
Birmingham and Solihull FDAC operates from Birmingham family courts and also has an independent base where the interventions are made possible.
For more information about Birmingham and Solihull FDAC, contact the FDAC Team Manager: Helen Davies by email Helen.Davies@Bham-SolFDAC.co.uk or by phone 07860906073.
Black Country
Through joint commissioning the charity Change Grow Live (CGL) is the appointed provider of The Black Country FDAC who launched 28th September 2020, operating from Wolverhampton Family Court. It is a collaboration of three local authorities serving Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley.
The program extended in July 2022 to offer an ‘Early FDAC’ allowing families to now benefit from the expertise of the multi-disciplinary team within both pre proceedings and care proceedings.
For more information about the Black Country FDAC, contact the FDAC Service Manager Gemma Hatfield by email: gemma.hatfield@cgl.org.uk or phone: 07741 326 245.
Coventry and Warwickshire
Coventry FDAC opened in October 2015. The FDAC team developed out of an existing local authority court-based assessment service and was established with match-funding from the Department for Education in its first year of practice. Since this time core funded by Coventry City Council.
In 2018 the team won the Public Sector Children’s Team Award at the 2018 Children & Young People Now Awards.
Coventry’s partnership with Warwickshire as its neighbouring authority launched a combined service across two authorities in October 2021, expanding the service to offer parity for families across the region. The specialist team is based in Coventry and includes social workers, substance misuse specialists, a parenting officer, children and family’s worker as well as a clinical lead.
For more information about Coventry FDAC, contact the FDAC Team Manager: Jane Dunne by email Jane.Dunne@coventry.gov.uk or phone
02476785575. Alternatively email
CoventryandwarwickshireFDAC@coventry.gov.uk
East Sussex
East Sussex FDAC opened in April 2015. It has grown out of the existing multi-disciplinary SWIFT service, commissioned jointly by Children’s Social Care and the local NHS Foundation Trust.
East Sussex has been particularly interested in using the FDAC approach to address mental health and domestic violence issues affecting substance misusing parents. The court operates out of Hastings and Brighton Court, and the team is based in Eastbourne.
For more information about East Sussex FDAC, contact the FDAC Team Manager: Chelsea Walsh by email swiftforfdac@eastsussex.gov.uk or phone 01323 463800.
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire FDAC launched in March 2013. The team sits within the local authority Children & Young People Service and operates out of one court in Gloucester.
Gloucestershire FDAC has a key difference to the evaluated FDAC model as the FDAC social worker is also the local authority social worker. The model also includes an established 1-year post-proceedings service, known as the Gloucestershire Supervision Order Care Pathway, which is being evaluated as part of the Supporting Families, Investing in Practice funding programme.
For more information about Gloucestershire FDAC, contact the FDAC Team Manager: Jane Marriott by email jane.marriott@gloucestershire.gov.uk or phone 01452 328354.
Leeds
Between October 2015 – March 2016 Leeds was one of five FDACs which opened in West Yorkshire part funded by the Department for Education Innovation Programme. These FDAC teams served three FDAC courts operating out of Leeds, Bradford and Kirklees.
Due to funding challenges four of the local authorities were not able to continue within their local budgets despite the success of the respective teams.
However, the Leeds FDAC continued and the service successfully completed its pilot in 2017. The specialist team is provided by the local charity Barca-Leeds, commissioned by the Local Authority and part-funded by philanthropic grants.
For more information about Leeds FDAC, contact the FDAC Team Manager: Saorsia Jefferson by email saorsia.jefferson@barca-leeds.org
London
London FDAC, the first UK FDAC, started in 2008 as a three-year pilot, funded by central government, and is now a service commissioned by the participating local authorities from the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
In January 2018, London FDAC expanded to provide a Pan-London service working across three London Family Courts: Central, Croydon and West London. In January 2021, this Pan-London FDAC service expanded to include some of the local authorities served by the East London Family Court. In total, the Pan-London FDAC serves 13 local authorities.
Additional local authorities have demonstrated an interest in the model and there are other opportunities for local authorities to commission FDAC.
The London FDAC has maintained parent mentoring as a consistent part of its model, and this is being evaluated by Sussex University under the Supporting Families, Investing in Practice programme.
For more information about Pan-London FDAC, contact the Clinical and Strategic Lead: Katie Walker by email kwalker@tavi-port.nhs.uk
Milton Keynes & Buckinghamshire
Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire FDAC opened in July 2014. It serves the two local authorities and operates out of two courts, in Milton Keynes and High Wycombe. The specialist team works from a base in Milton Keynes.
In June 2016 Milton Keynes Family Court won a HMCTs regional award for partnership working in developing their FDAC service.
For more information about Milton Keynes & Buckinghamshire FDAC, contact the Team Manager: Jenny Swift by email mkbucks@fdact.org.uk or phone 01908 253400.
North East
FDAC North East is a collaboration between three local authorities and serves Gateshead, Newcastle and North Tyneside. FDAC North East launched in April 2021 and is a two year pilot funded by the Department for Education. FDAC North East is a multi-disciplinary team, made up from professionals from children’s social work, substance use and mental health and have support from a Consultant Psychologist and Consultant Psychiatrist.
FDAC North East operates from the Civil and Family Courts and Tribunals Centre in Newcastle city centre, while the FDAC team work flexibly across the three local authority areas.
For more information about FDAC North East, contact the FDAC Manager Dominic Wilson by email: dominicwilson@fdacnortheast.co.uk or phone: 0191 433 3898.
Pan Bedfordshire
The Pan Bedfordshire FDAC launched in November 2019. It serves three local authorities and operates out of two courts, in Luton and Bedford. It is at the beginning of a two-year pilot.
The Pan Bedfordshire FDAC has secured funding from diverse sources, with significant contributions from the PCC, the CCG, a local charity and Public Health, alongside core funding from Children’s Services.
For more information about the Pan Bedfordshire FDAC, please contact the Team Manager: Beverley Sorensen by email Beverley.Sorensen@panbedsfdac.co.uk
Southampton
Southampton FDAC opened in 2015 initially as a small pilot but has now been running for 7 years as a permanent fixture within the Local Authority’s Children and Families Service. The team sit within the multi-disciplinary Intervention and Complex Assessment Services and work closely with frontline Social Care teams, therapeutic services, community substance misuse providers and health colleagues.
The FDAC team have also expanded in recent years, with increased clinical lead input, more FDAC trained social workers and a substance misuse worker within the team. Due to the teams multi-faceted function within the Local Authority, they also support any reunification work undertaken during or post FDAC and offer a 12 month post-FDAC intervention for families.
For more information about Southampton FDAC, contact the FDAC Service Lead: Daniel Clark by email Daniel.Clark@southampton.gov.uk or phone 02380 834430.
Stockport, Wigan and Manchester
Stockport FDAC launched in January 2021. It has been funded for two years by Stockport Family, and the Department of Education’s ‘Supporting Families Programme’. It serves the Stockport Metropolitan Council and operates out of the Manchester Family Court, in the Manchester Civil Justice Centre. In April of this year Wigan Council and Manchester City Council joined Stockport in utilising FDAC.
For more information about Stockport, Wigan and Manchester FDAC, please contact the Service Lead by email: joanne.harris@stockport.gov.uk
Wiltshire
Wiltshire FDAC launched in June 2022 and sits within the Local Authority’s existing Specialist Assessment, Intervention and Family Time team. It is available to families living in Wiltshire and operates from the Family Court in Swindon where it is overseen by a specially trained Judge. The FDAC team consists of experienced social workers skilled in assessment work, substance misuse specialists, intervention workers and a clinical lead.
Wiltshire have worked closely with our partner agencies in setting up our FDAC and as such, as well as being funded by the Local Authority, we have also secured funding from the Clinical Commissioning Group for our clinical lead and have accessed funding from Wiltshire’s Domestic Abuse strategy.
For more information about Wiltshire FDAC, contact Harriet.rattue-spicer@
Find out more about the work and impact of these FDACs in the 2022/2023 annual report.