Two south west cities are taking part in a national scheme which aims to tackle anti-social behaviour by forcing problem families to mend their ways.
Under the Family Intervention Project (FIP), targeted families in Plymouth and Exeter could lose their homes if they do not improve their behaviour.
The aim is to offer problem families support in exchange for them signing contracts promising to behave.
The cities are among 53 areas involved in the FIP campaign.
'Lost causes'
According to the government, the cost to taxpayers of anti-social families can be between £250,000 and £350,000 a year.
Under the FIP scheme, each problem family will be assigned a specialist worker and will face the threat of eviction from local authority housing if their behaviour does not improve.
At the most intensive level, families will receive round-the-clock supervision at a residential unit.
The average cost of counselling each family is expected to be between £8,000 and £15,000 a year.
The government is putting £315,000 into the project in Exeter and £369,000 in Plymouth over two years.
Louise Casey, from the Respect Action Plan, said: "In the past (problem families) may have been written off by agencies as lost causes, but now will be offered the right help and incentive to become decent members of their community and give their children the opportunity to grow up with a chance in life."
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