Intake and Family Support Service (IFSS)

Svetlana Buttigieg Service Area Manager Aġenzija Appoġġ

The Intake and Family Support Service, known in short as IFSS, is one of many services offered by the Foundation for Social Welfare Services (FSWS). This service is generic and deals with a wide variety of family difficulties. We cover issues such as: poverty, relationship issues between family members, and difficulties in raising children, among others.

When a person needs assistance regarding generic problems, i.e. not specialised, the first contact the individual will have is with professionals within our service. Social workers carry out an assessment to better understand individuals issues and better help resolve problems more rapidly and effectively. If the assessment uncovers a more specialised issue, they ask for consent to refer the issue to a specialist team.

The service consists of several professionals, including social workers, social welfare professionals and a counsellor, who work together in a multidisciplinary team to address the needs of the individual in a holistic manner. The necessary help is provided on a case-by-case basis, according to the needs of the person or family, and an action plan is devised together with the client.

In cases where the person is already being followed by another professional, that professional can contact us directly. The situation is discussed and if we see that the person benefits from the service, we direct that professional to refer.

In addition to individual help, the Intake and Family Support Services also offer a series of workshops to groups of people who have similar needs. These Family workshops address different skills which are needed in a family context, so that our clients would feel better equipped to meet the daily needs which different members of the family can present.

Eight workshops are held on a weekly basis with topics ranging from communication, parenting skills, budgeting and finding balance between work and family life. These workshops can be held in both English and Maltese in order to reach English speaking families who live within our communities as well.

For those who wish to make use of our services, our offices are located at Aġenzija Appoġġ in Gwardamanġa. We are open between Monday and Friday, between 8:00am and 5:00pm. You can also call us on 2295 9000.

Stephen Christopher Vella Director Corporate Services at the FSWS Head Office

The Foundation for Social Welfare Services closely collaborates with various national stakeholders to ensure those at risk of social exclusion and in dire need of assistance are helped. One of the many initiatives are the two Food distribution Schemes better known as FEAD and SFFD which stands for Fund for the European Aid for the Most Deprived (cofunded by the EU) and the State Funded Food Distribution (fully funded by the Government of Malta).

Between these two schemes we reach out to over 20,000 families with five distributions annually. These are carried out in close cooperation with the Foundation’s Line Ministry (MSPC). These schemes are now in their 7th year with a constant reach out, including various ventures and auxiliary schemes such as distribution of new books through the National Literacy Agency and other similar initiatives to further assist the targeted families.

I consider this aid as going the extra mile to reach out to those in need. The food packages provided, though substantial in content are also a means to keep in contact with those otherwise off-radar and at high risk of being isolated from society. Those that collect packages from the various distribution points in Malta and Gozo are offered further support and if required, referred to other FSWS or other services to focus on their specific need.

The Foundation engages in various EU funded projects relevant to our field such as reaching out to young people at high risk of social exclusion, victims of human trafficking, community-based programmes and initiatives, support to frontline workers to strengthen our social capital. The following are a few examples of the many projects delivered by the Foundation in these last few years:

The ESF funded LEAP Project

The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund project for victims of human trafficking

The OK (Opportunity Knocks) Project for the young funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway grants

The Valletta Hiliet il-Komunita’ Project funded through ERDF funds

The Foundation continually strive to reach out and assist those most in need, ensuring they are looked after professionally. The most effective way of achieving this is by working with other stakeholders outside of the Foundation. We are very much aware that the sum of Our joint efforts with many other parties yields far more than we could do on our own.

Contact details: FSWS EU Funded Projects Office mobile 7901 3090