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Social Work vocabulary · Children, Families and Care

Early intervention

Meaning in social work, with examples

nounCommon term

In social work, early intervention means: Giving support as soon as problems appear, often in early childhood, so that they do not grow into more serious difficulties later.

In Turkish: erken müdahale, erken destek

How it is used

A key idea in children's services, mental health and youth work; 'early help' is a common UK synonym. Supporters argue that early intervention improves outcomes and reduces later costs.

Example sentences

  1. Early intervention with young parents can prevent a crisis later.

  2. The council moved more staff into early intervention teams.

Common collocations

  • early intervention services
  • early intervention team
  • early help
  • invest in early intervention
  • family supportServices that help families cope with difficulties and bring up their children well, such as parenting groups, practical help and family support workers.
  • interventionAny planned action taken by a social worker or service to improve a person's or family's situation, from counselling to practical support.
  • child in needIn UK law, a child who needs extra services to reach or keep a reasonable standard of health or development; every disabled child is included.
  • parenting capacityA parent's ability to meet a child's needs and keep them safe, including basic care, emotional warmth, guidance, boundaries and stability.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Children, Families and Care

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