Problem Solving, Your Way
Help shape support for families in your community
In 2024, we launched our first Problem-Solving Your Way survey to understand the challenges families are facing and how they seek support. The insights from that report helped us secure vital funding to expand our services. Our annual surveys help us to develop services where they are most needed.
Our full 2026 is now available for download, and is summarised below.
You can download the reports here:
2026 Problem Solving Your Way Report
Our 2026 Problem Solving Your Way Report
Summary
This is our third annual survey. We continue to see a high prominence of issues relating to caring responsibilities, finances and employment, and both physical and mental health; these remain the dominant challenges people face.
This year, fewer people reported asking for help, with under half reaching out to others. However, when people do seek support, it is more often helpful than not, reinforcing the value of asking for help. Family and friends remain the primary sources of support, while GPs and educational settings are the most commonly approached services.
Responses also highlight ongoing challenges in navigating systems, including eligibility restrictions and waiting lists. Services are still perceived as fragmented. When access to support is successful, however, it can have a meaningful and positive impact.
Awareness of our approach and family-led decision-making services remains relatively low, but the majority of people say they would consider using them. This year, more people also indicated they would consider paying for support. For the first time, we explored which types of organisations people would feel most comfortable approaching; charities and community services were the most preferred.
We remain committed to ensuring that family-led decision-making is accessible to those who want it, whenever they need it.
Report highlights
The report took place in February & March 2026, and received 111 responses. This is our third annual report.
The top 5 challenges cited by respondents over the past 12 months were: Caring for others, Cost of Living & Financial Concerns, Poor Mental Health, Poor Physical Health and Unemployment. These remain stable from last year, with the exception of Unemployment replacing Bereavement.
42% of people shared that they asked for help; this has decreased since last year.
When people do ask for help, it is mostly useful, with only 9.5% saying it was not useful.
Family and friends are the main place that people seek help, with GPs or Health Care Providers, or education organisations being the place service approached.
Most people hadn’t heard of Family Group Conferences (our core services) before, but 89% would family-led decision making as an option if available when seeking help. 16% would consider paying for it, and 28% would only consider it if it was free.
35% would seek help this form of help from a charity or community organisation, followed by health or education organisation (32%) and then Local Authority (19.5%)
Our Response
In response to these surveys, and our wider community engagement, we are currently focusing on:
Continuing to fundraise for and invest in our prevention project, Dragonfly, based in Portsmouth. This project supports local families experiencing challenges or change who are not receiving support from Children’s Social Services.
Working in partnership with specialist dementia and care organisations to co-produce and pilot services for people living with dementia and their carers. Caring responsibilities have consistently remained a ‘top five issue’, rising year on year in our reports, and we are committed to addressing this growing need.
Strengthening our co-production approach by expanding the ways that people can work alongside us to design services. We offer feedback surveys, community surveys, Voice Panels, and regular focus groups, and we warmly invite anyone to get involved. Further information is available on our website.
Supporting national improvements in family-led decision-making services by expanding our Training Service for practitioners working in communities and social care settings.
Staying in touch
We are working on more ways to support families, young people, adults and the wider community through increasing the accessiblity of family-led decision-making services.
If you would want to get involved: