REACH is multi-disciplinary team that provides intensive support to families with multiple complex needs, where there is a significant likelihood of the young person (aged 12-18) becoming accommodated away from home.

The multi-disciplinary approach brings together a range of professional expertise (Children’s Services, Education, and NHS Tayside) into one team and allows young people to benefit from a wide range of specialist support in one place. This helps to minimise delays in getting the right help at the right time, and reduces the need for young people and families to be referred to multiple agencies.

REACH integrates care and outreach support and provides intensive, coordinated and flexible support to young people and their families within their own homes and communities. It also supports rehabilitation of young people into their family home and/or community, and aims to provide evidence based assessment and interventions that support families and young people to: develop resilience; develop problem solving skills; reduce risks; improve overall family functioning; and empower families.

The contribution of the REACH team in avoiding the need for young people to become accommodated in external residential placements is already evident.There has been a reduction in the number of residential placements from 27 in July 2017 to 11 in July 2019. The number of placements reduced by 50% between August 2017 and August 2018 due to a concerted effort to return young people to community placements and improved monitoring of decision making for young people.