Parenting Support

Families will require support when faced with problems they are unable to overcome on their own. Ideally support should come from existing networks, such as extended family, religious leaders, and neighbours. Where such support is not available or sufficient, additional family and community services are required. Such services are particularly important for kinship, foster and adoptive caretakers, and child headed households in order to prevent separation and address abuse and exploitation of children. It is also vital for children affected by HIV/AIDS and armed conflict, and those children living on the street.

Parenting support services are typically provided by social and community paraprofessionals. They focus on the individual needs of a child or family, in order to address and overcome issues which may lead to family separation or harm to the child. Such services should be provided within the context of case planning, beginning with an assessment of the child and family situation. By assessing the need first, an appropriate set of services can be offered, such as day care provision, parenting support, household economic strengthening, or psychosocial referral.

Day care services are particularly important for caretakers who are overwhelmed as a result of ill health, cannot provide adaquate care because they need to work, or who are isolated within the community. It provides an excellent opportunity for children to socialise with others, and can offer additional protection and education.

Parenting support provides caretakers with an opportunity to talk about their difficulties, and learn additional techniques for meeting their child’s developmental and relationship needs. It can enable caretakers to cope with behavioural problems, and address abusive parenting techniques, thereby reducing the need for family separation and improving the incidence of successful family reunification.

The literature in this section contains information on family support programmes for vulnerable children, including day care and parenting support.

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Vulnerable parents with and without a learning disability: Long-term outcomes for families with and without prior involvement in a parenting skills programme

Sharon McGregor, Dominic Jarrett, Ailsa Stewart - University of Strathclyde, East Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership, and North Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership, 2017

Families including a parent or parents with a learning disability can often have complex needs linked to issues such as poverty and mental health, and are known to be overrepresented in child care proceedings. Previous local project work with 12 families had demonstrated the potential of providing intensive support to parents with a learning disability, as well as others without a learning disability who were vulnerable for other reasons. A follow-up project 16 years later sought to re-engage with those families in order to explore their outcomes.

Isibindi's Family Strengthening Approach

Isibindi Project - National Association of Child Care Workers, 2017

This brief summarises key findings of a qualitative study of the family strengthening approach of the Isibindi model.

Backward Progress Toward Reinstating Parental Rights

LaShanda Taylor Adams - N.Y.U. Review of Law and Social Change, 2017

This article examines the legal inadequacies of reinstatement statutes in the US which "often punish parents who opposed the termination of their parental rights and reward those who voluntarily signed relinquishments."

Post-adoption support and interventions for adoptive families: Best practice approaches

Julie Selwyn - German Research Center on Adoption (EFZA) , 2017

This rapid literature review was commissioned by the German Research Centre on Adoption (EFZA) located at the German Youth Institute in Munich (Germany). The overall aim of the review was to consider the support needs of domestic and intercountry adoptive families and the evidence for effective interventions. Step-parent, relative and domestic private adoptions were excluded.

Early Intervention - Erken Mudaxile

UAFA, 13 Dec 2016

A video from UAFA emphasizing the importance of early intervention.

Recovery coaches and the stability of reunification for substance abusing families in child welfare

Joseph P. Ryan, Brian G. Victor, Andrew Moore, Orion Mowbray, and Brian E. Perron -- Children and Youth Services Review, 01 Nov 2016

This study tests an intervention to improve child welfare outcomes for substance abusing families, specifically the probability of families achieving a stable (at least 12 months) reunification.

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UAFA: Deinstitutionalization

UAFA, 31 Oct 2016

In this video from United Aid for Azerbaijan, several experts and public officials discuss the importance of deinstitutionalization.

Mother–Child Relational Quality of Women in Substance Abuse Treatment

Linda Lewin, Kathleen Farkas, Maryam Niazi - Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 16 Oct 2016

According to this study, mothers who abuse substances are more likely to have impaired parenting and lose custody of their young children.

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The impact of income on reunification among families with children in out-of-home care

JoAnn S. Lee, Jennifer L. Romich, Ji Young Kang, Jennifer L. Hook and Maureen O. Marcenko--Children and Youth Services Review, 13 Oct 2016

This study examines the causal role that the source of income plays in reunification.

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Engaging Parents, Developing Leaders: A Self-Assessment and Planning Tool for Nonprofits and Schools

Annie E. Casey Foundation , 01 Aug 2016

This self-assessment and planning tool is intended for nonprofits and schools working with families to provide services that more effectively reach and engage parents in fostering their children's development.