Hertfordshire CC is the first authority in the UK to introduce a county-wide, multi-disciplinary child protection service where for the first time, skilled professionals work together under one roof to tackle the root causes of abuse and neglect in families.

These newly-created family safeguarding teams combine a wide range of professionals which include children’s social workers and practitioners, mental health professionals, substance misuse specialists and domestic abuse experts. Specialist adult workers focus on engaging parents to change the behaviours that put their children at risk, so children’s social workers can concentrate on working directly with children and strengthening bonds between children and their families.