Getting Help Before Court: What You Need to Know About Family Help
A new, free way to get whole-family support designed to keep families together and avoid court altogether.
Getting Help Before Court: What You Need to Know About Family Help
If you're worried about your family and think you might end up in court, there's something important you should know. The government has just launched a new way of getting help that's designed to keep families together and avoid court altogether.
It's called Family Help, and it's free.
What is Family Help?
Family Help is practical, whole-family support for when things are difficult. It covers families who are struggling with things like:
- Money problems or housing worries
- Parenting stress or relationship breakdown
- Mental health, addiction, or domestic abuse
- A child's behaviour or school attendance
- Disability or complex needs
The idea is simple: you get one person who knows your family and helps coordinate all the support you need, rather than being passed between different agencies.
How do you get it?
Contact your local authority's Family Help team, or ask your GP, school, children's centre, or local family hub. You can also ask for help from:
- Your local council
- Health services
- The police (if there's been a concern reported)
- Schools and nurseries
- Housing services
- Any voluntary organisation working with families
They'll have a conversation with you about what you need (not an interrogation). If Family Help is right for your family, you'll be assigned a Lead Practitioner. This is one person who stays with your family, builds a relationship, and helps coordinate everything.
What happens next?
Your Lead Practitioner will work with you to understand your family's situation properly. Together you'll make a single plan that covers all the things your family needs help with.
The support might include:
- Parenting classes or one-to-one help with the kids
- Mental health or substance misuse support
- Housing advice
- Help getting back to work
- Domestic abuse services
- School attendance support
- Help with disability or special needs
The key is that your Lead Practitioner stays consistent. You build trust. They're not there to judge you or take your children away. They're there to help your family stay together and sort things out.
What if there are child protection concerns?
If professionals worry a child is at serious risk of harm, a specialist child protection team gets involved. But even then, your Lead Practitioner stays your main point of contact. The goal is still to keep your family together if it's safe to do so.
The really important bit: Family Group Decision Making (FGDM)
If your family is in difficulty, you have the right to ask for a Family Group Decision Making meeting. This is where your family (the people you choose) come together with a trained facilitator to make your own plan for keeping your children safe.
It's not social workers deciding what happens to your family. It's your family deciding.
You might invite grandparents, aunts, uncles, close friends, or other people your family trusts. You talk through what's worrying professionals and what your family can do about it. Your family has private time to come up with solutions without professionals in the room.
If you need practical help to make the plan work (a car seat, money for training, help with a deposit for housing, childcare costs), you can ask for a Family Network Support Package. The local authority can fund things that unlock your family's own solutions.
If you're heading toward court
This is critical: if your local authority is thinking about taking legal action or court proceedings, they must now offer your family a Family Group Decision Making meeting first. This is your chance to come up with a plan yourselves before anything gets to court.
You get time to think about the offer, get legal advice, and involve family. If your family can make a plan that addresses the concerns, you might never need to go to court.
Why does this matter?
Court is expensive, stressful, and lengthy. It pulls families apart. Family Help and Family Group Decision Making are designed to help families solve problems while staying together.
If you do end up needing a McKenzie Friend or going to court, you'll have already done a lot of work on your family's situation and had your voice heard through FGDM.
What you should do
If you're struggling:
- Talk to your GP, health visitor, school, or local family hub about Family Help
- Contact your local authority's children's services and ask what support is available
- If professionals raise concerns, ask for a Family Group Decision Making meeting
- Get advice early. Don't wait until you're in crisis or facing court
Family Help is new (2026). Not every area has rolled it out yet, but they should be by March 2027. If your local authority can't offer it yet, ask when they will.
You deserve help. Your family deserves the chance to solve this together.
Need more support?
Bridge The Gap holds a directory of independent McKenzie Friends who can support you through family court if you need them. But the first step is asking for Family Help. It's free, it's designed for you, and it might keep you out of court altogether.
Disclaimer: This information is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Family Help provision and timescales vary by local authority. Contact your local authority or a qualified legal adviser for advice specific to your situation.
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