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Route map: Intensive family support

This route map was last updated in December 2025 with all information that is known about work underway and still required. It is not yet fully populated and work continues to identify what still needs to happen. Route maps are shared planning tools to support delivery of the promise and as progress is made and the rest of the route becomes clearer, this route map will continue to be updated. 

Where is Scotland now?

Work underway includes national guidance published in 2022 and ongoing support from The Promise Scotland to develop shared understanding across partners. There is growing recognition that intensive family support is most effective when offered early, delivered consistently, and focused on trust and lasting change. Next steps focus on embedding agreed principles in practice, improving alignment across services, and ensuring timely access to the right support. Further work will strengthen workforce confidence, improve consistency across areas, and link intensive support with wider universal and specialist services.

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Intensive family support

Where does Scotland need to be by 2030?

All of the promise's calls to action have been grouped into delivery-focused outcomes that make clear what Scotland must deliver to keep the promise. The route map then identifies who must take responsibility for action by when for each outcome. This means the outcomes are fully aligned to what children, young people, and care experienced adults said must happen and the actions required are in a format that supports delivery, accountability, and monitoring. 

The outcomes in Intensive Family Support are: 

  • Scotland shares a clear, national understanding of the purpose and ten principles of intensive family support. Intensive family support is proactive, and easy to access. Families no longer need to fight for help. Systems focus on empowerment and relational support rather than risk management. 
  • The principles of intensive family support extend to kinship, foster, and adoptive families, recognising their continued need for wraparound, therapeutic help to sustain relationships and stability.
  • Support is available for all families caring for disabled children and those with additional support needs. Where a parent has a learning disability, care planning is specific and supportive and mental health help and support is available at all stages of parent and carers' parenting journey.
  • Scotland’s justice system protects children’s relationships and rights when parents face imprisonment. Short custodial sentences are avoided; sentencing considers children’s welfare; and wraparound support prevents trauma and separation.
  • Children and adult services work together to support families affected by substance use and holistically assess children and young people within their families to support them to stay together when safe. Early, intensive and domestic abuse informed support is available and there is no penalisation of parents experiencing domestic abuse. Perpetrators of domestic abuse are held accountable and children and young people are protected from harm. Access to rehabilitation and support is more readily available.
  • Families whose children are removed from their care are not abandoned. They receive therapeutic support, advocacy, and engagement to repair relationships and sustain wellbeing.
Where does Scotland
need to be by 2030?

The route map to get there

In July 2022, the Scottish Government published a routemap and national principles of the delivery of holistic, whole family support.

Some local areas have been piloting intensive support for children 'on the edges of care'. This includes the 'Sustain' service in Clackmannanshire and Edinburgh's short breaks house, which also offers outreach support for families.

The 'Reimagining Secure Care' report was published by the Children and Young People's Centre for Justice in September 2024. One of the key principles of the "reimagined future" is that "Children and their families have unstigmatised access to effective holistic and intensive family support, with the right support being provided at the right time by the right people and services. Such support must be ‘available, proactive and characterised by the 10 family support principles (Independent Care Review, 2020, p3). Support and inclusion of the child’s family and significant people in their lives must be central to the approach, except in situations where their involvement would not be in the child's best interests." The Scottish Government's response to the report, published in June 2025, was clear that "The Promise is clear that intensive family support and specialist mental health support is critical. The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that children are supported within their families and communities, wherever possible, and that secure care is only used when no other alternatives are appropriate."

Detailed refreshed practice guidance on alternatives to secure care was published in March 2025.

A consultation on the future of secure care is expected at the end of 2025, and this is likely to include consideration of alternatives to secure care and access to intensive support for families.

The Promise Scotland will work with local and national government, the third sector and other partners working alongside families to further develop the 'universal family support' route map, which will identify ways to overcome the systemic barriers preventing all families from being able to access early help and support, and ensure all children and families are able to access early emotional, practical and financial help and support when they need it, for as long as they need it. Once this work is complete, there will be an increased focus on this 'intensive family support' route map, to ensure that the mechanisms are in place so families can access both early and intensive family support in Scotland, in line with the ten principles of intensive family support set out in the promise. This will include ensuring that families are able to move between different 'tiers' of support, and access help and support that best meets their needs in ways that make sense to them. It will also include ensuring that members of the workforce feel valued and supported in their work supporting families. This will also include a clear focus on the support needs of those families more likely to come into contact with the 'care system' identified by the Independent Care Review.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

Who needs to work on this:

Scottish Government, Local Authorities, Third Sector, 

Other route maps this links to:

Universal family support

Poverty

Health

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

Under the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, local authorities have a duty to assess someone's needs for adoption support services and then provide that support.

Scottish Government published the Supporting Adoption: Vision & Priorities for Scotland in November 2024. The Vision states that: "Adoptive families should feel equipped and well-supported by practitioners, and the ability of the workforce to act with care and compassion should be prioritised" and "Support to adoptive families should be there as long as they need it and focused on the key principles of intensive family support as set out in the Promise Plan 24-30."

Publication of CELCIS’s focused mapping review, which explores different aspects of adoption support across the UK, to assist with understanding what is needed in Scotland to meet the needs of all involved.

Scottish Government fund the Association for Fostering, Kinship and Adoption (AFKA) which advises, trains, and supports practitioners to improve outcomes for children and families as well as Scotland's Adoption Register which supports agencies in matching approved prospective adopters with children who are identified as needing an adoptive family.

The Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland (KCASS) provides free, confidential, impartial advice to kinship families and professionals working alongside them, and The PATHways programme enables adoptive families, kinship, and permanent fostering families to benefit from therapeutic support and a peer support parenting group.

The Scottish Government has committed to publishing a Kinship Care vision statement in December 2025, the vision statement will be accompanied by an offer for children living with kinship carers and for kinship carers themselves.

In late 2024, the Scottish Government consulted on the future of Foster Care in Scotland, in recognition that fostering in Scotland has to evolve in order to keep the Promise for children with experience of care and also to meet the challenge in recruiting and supporting the retention of foster carers in Scotland.

The Promise Scotland will work with local and national government, the third sector and other partners working alongside families to further develop the 'universal family support' route map, which will identify ways to overcome the systemic barriers preventing all families from being able to access early help and support, and ensure all children and families are able to access early emotional, practical and financial help and support when they need it, for as long as they need it. Once this work is complete, there will be an increased focus on this 'intensive family support' route map, to ensure that the mechanisms are in place so families can access both early and intensive family support in Scotland, in line with the ten principles of intensive family support set out in the promise. This will include ensuring that families are able to move between different 'tiers' of support, and access help and support that best meets their needs in ways that make sense to them. It will also include ensuring that members of the workforce feel valued and supported in their work supporting families. This will also include a clear focus on the support needs of those families more likely to come into contact with the 'care system' identified by the Independent Care Review.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

Who needs to work on this:

Scottish Government, Local Authorities, Third Sector 

Other route maps this links to:

Where children live

Universal family support

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

Scottish Government & COSLA- ‘A Time of Change’ National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy for Young Disabled People 2025-2030

The keys to life- Improving quality of life for people with learning disabilities, Scottish Government, 2013

The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund, which will end March 2026.

In Scotland, there are several initiatives and services focused on perinatal mental health, including the Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland, which aims to enhance access to high-quality care for women experiencing mental health issues during pregnancy and the first postnatal year. Scotland has also established its first specialist perinatal mental health inpatient and community service, providing comprehensive care for mothers and families affected by mental illness during the perinatal period. There is ongoing development of perinatal and infant mental health services across health boards, which includes mother and baby units and community support.

The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme was initiated to improve services for women and families, focusing on mental health from conception to one year post-birth.

The Promise Scotland will work with local and national government, the third sector and other partners working alongside families to further develop the 'universal family support' route map, which will identify ways to overcome the systemic barriers preventing all families from being able to access early help and support, and ensure all children and families are able to access early emotional, practical and financial help and support when they need it, for as long as they need it. Once this work is complete, there will be an increased focus on this 'intensive family support' route map, to ensure that the mechanisms are in place so families can access both early and intensive family support in Scotland, in line with the ten principles of intensive family support set out in the promise. This will include ensuring that families are able to move between different 'tiers' of support, and access help and support that best meets their needs in ways that make sense to them. It will also include ensuring that members of the workforce feel valued and supported in their work supporting families. This will also include a clear focus on the support needs of those families more likely to come into contact with the 'care system' identified by the Independent Care Review.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

Who needs to work on this:

Other route maps this links to:

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

Scottish Prison Service – Family and Parenting Strategy: 2024-2029.

The Presumption Against Short Sentences was extended in 2021 from 3 months to 12 months (Criminal Justice Reform), significantly reducing the use of custody for low-level offending.

Scotland operates Mother and Baby Units at HMP and YOI Polmont and HMP Edinburgh.

Investment has been made in family- friendly visiting spaces, visitor centres and play areas.

Scottish Prison Service (2020) Mother and Baby Unit Admissions and Care Policy formally embeds: Rights-based decision-making, Best interests of the child, Avoidance of separation wherever safe.

The Promise Scotland will work with local and national government, the third sector and other partners working alongside families to further develop the 'universal family support' route map, which will identify ways to overcome the systemic barriers preventing all families from being able to access early help and support, and ensure all children and families are able to access early emotional, practical and financial help and support when they need it, for as long as they need it. Once this work is complete, there will be an increased focus on this 'intensive family support' route map, to ensure that the mechanisms are in place so families can access both early and intensive family support in Scotland, in line with the ten principles of intensive family support set out in the promise. This will include ensuring that families are able to move between different 'tiers' of support, and access help and support that best meets their needs in ways that make sense to them. It will also include ensuring that members of the workforce feel valued and supported in their work supporting families. This will also include a clear focus on the support needs of those families more likely to come into contact with the 'care system' identified by the Independent Care Review.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

Who needs to work on this:

Scottish Government, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), Scottish Prison Service, Third Sector 

Other route maps this links to:

Rights and Restraint

Workforce support

Leadership

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

The Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 ensures that children in Scotland have the same protections against assault as adults.

Scotland's National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland sets out that all services working with families must consider the needs of children and their parents where vulnerability and protection needs are identified, including parents who use substances and alcohol.

In December 2021, the Scottish Government published a framework to improve support for families affected by harms associated with substance use. It sets out the importance of ensuring that all family members have access to support to meet their needs.

The Way Forward for Families Partnership Fund is delivered by the Corra Foundation to provide funding directly to third sector services supporting children and families affected by alcohol and drugs.

Aberlour's Mother and Baby Recovery Houses support women affected by problematic alcohol and drug use. Mothers are assisted to stabilise their drug and alcohol use, with the aim of preventing drug deaths and avoiding children being taken into care wherever possible.

Equally Safe (Scotland's Strategy to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women and Girls) was refreshed in 2023. The Delivering Equally Safe Fund provides funding for organisations working with children and young people affected by gender-based violence.

Local Violence Against Women Partnerships continue to deliver multi-agency implementation at local level, building collaborative action across health, justice and third sector bodies.

The Promise Scotland will work with local and national government, the third sector and other partners working alongside families to further develop the 'universal family support' route map, which will identify ways to overcome the systemic barriers preventing all families from being able to access early help and support, and ensure all children and families are able to access early emotional, practical and financial help and support when they need it, for as long as they need it. Once this work is complete, there will be an increased focus on this 'intensive family support' route map, to ensure that the mechanisms are in place so families can access both early and intensive family support in Scotland, in line with the ten principles of intensive family support set out in the promise. This will include ensuring that families are able to move between different 'tiers' of support, and access help and support that best meets their needs in ways that make sense to them. It will also include ensuring that members of the workforce feel valued and supported in their work supporting families. This will also include a clear focus on the support needs of those families more likely to come into contact with the 'care system' identified by the Independent Care Review.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

Who needs to work on this:

Scottish Government, Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs), Third Sector, Health

Other route maps this links to:

Poverty

Universal family support

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

In February 2023, the Scottish Government published 'Supporting Roots', a report which contained an evidence review on support for birth parents, the experiences and views of birth parents and services and support in Scotland for birth parents.

Services supporting birth parents (whose children have been permanently removed) received nearly £890,000 in 2024/25, with funds distributed across a range of charities and local authorities to provide counselling, peer support, life-story work, letterbox contact support, and other forms of support. 

The Scottish Government has invested over £3.1m in the Corra Foundation to provide grants designed to support birth parents who have had children permanently removed from their care. The fund supports the development and delivery of local support services.

The Promise Scotland will work with local and national government, the third sector and other partners working alongside families to further develop the 'universal family support' route map, which will identify ways to overcome the systemic barriers preventing all families from being able to access early help and support, and ensure all children and families are able to access early emotional, practical and financial help and support when they need it, for as long as they need it. Once this work is complete, there will be an increased focus on this 'intensive family support' route map, to ensure that the mechanisms are in place so families can access both early and intensive family support in Scotland, in line with the ten principles of intensive family support set out in the promise. This will include ensuring that families are able to move between different 'tiers' of support, and access help and support that best meets their needs in ways that make sense to them. It will also include ensuring that members of the workforce feel valued and supported in their work supporting families. This will also include a clear focus on the support needs of those families more likely to come into contact with the 'care system' identified by the Independent Care Review.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

Who needs to work on this:

Local Authorities, COSLA, Third Sector 

Other route maps this links to:

Poverty

Relationships

Stability

Where children live

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

What matters to children, families, and care experienced adults

My family and I can explain our situation once to someone and work as much as possible with a single point of contact, even if we need help from lots of different teams of people. 

When plans are made to help me, those plans include my whole family, any support they need too, and how we live our life together. 

My family members can get therapeutic support to improve their wellbeing, so that they are better supported to manage if they are having any problems. 

Find out more about what matters here

Foundations