Family and Adolescent Support Team
Family and Adolescent Support Team (FAST) offers early help and support to young people aged 11 to 17 and their families who are at risk of family breakdown. The team works with families for up to nine months to safeguard the well-being of young people and prevent them from becoming homeless.
If young people aged 16 to 17 are already homeless, we will:
- try to reunite them with their families
- offer support and mediation
- build family resilience
- improve parenting to keep their families together
If it is not possible to reunite a young person with their family we will move them into suitable accommodation.
The young person will be assessed (this can take up to 35 working days) and asked to sign up to the FAST charter. They will also be:
- given a support pack containing information, the FAST charter and our complaints procedure
- asked about their health and advised where to get help with sexual and mental health, drugs, alcohol and education
- asked about their relationships with parents, partners and peers
Young people will need to take responsibility for their own behaviour. If they are evicted from accommodation provided by FAST, they may not be offered other accommodation.
Social work involvement
Following the assessment, a plan will be developed for social work involvement. Plans are reviewed every six weeks. The young person will need to be involved in the reviews in case there has been a change in their circumstances.
Once a young person becomes 18 years old they will no longer get social work support from FAST, unless they have a disability.