Press Release: Over £4million helping hand for children and families in Wales

Organisations representing the needs of children and families up and down the country will benefit from funding of over £4 million in the next three years, Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas, announced today (Thursday, 24 January).

A total of 17 organisations, each providing services for children, young people and their families working within the health and social services sector, will be allocated £1,475,723 for 2008-09; £1,393,582 for 2009-10 and £1,272,478 for 2010-11 from the Children and Families Organisation Grant (CFOG).

A competitive bidding round for the CFOG – a grant providing core funding for voluntary organisations working on a pan-Wales level to develop child and family support - was held between August and October 2007 with 40 applications received in total.

Organisations that were successful for the first time in bidding for the grants were Adoption UK, RNIB Cymru, The Lucy Faithfull Foundation (Stop It Now) and Autism Cymru.

Founded in 2001, Autism Cymru aims to make a real difference to the provision and delivery of services for people with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in Wales.

Its primary task has been to influence and help develop a strategic vision for autism in Wales and has worked closely with the Welsh Assembly Government in the development of the consultation document on the Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Strategic Action Plan for Wales.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Gwenda Thomas said:

"The Welsh Assembly Government is totally committed to ensuring that our children have every opportunity to develop and grow in a happy, healthy and supportive environment.

"The organisations that have successfully applied for the Children and Families Organisation Grant play a crucial role in supporting children and their families that need extra support.

"This is yet another example of how we are working across the Welsh Assembly Government to improve the life chances of children in Wales and contributing to the fight against child poverty.

Last week, a total of £10.4 million was allocated from the CFOG to organisations that fall within the Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills portfolio.