Expert Consultation on Family and Parenting Support: Final Report

UNICEF Office of Research has undertaken a global research project to examine different conceptual understandings and policy orientations of family and parenting support. The project was initiated recently with a global consultation of experts and the final report available here provides a valuable overview of this important research agenda.

This report includes an outline of the discussion, activities, and conclusions from a two-day expert consultation on family and parenting support, organized by Innocenti, the UNICEF Office of Research. Participants and speakers at the consultation presented research and participated in discussion. Research and discussion addressed the following questions:

• What are the main lines of development in family and parenting support, and what are the aims and modalities?

• What are the underpinning rationales as well as the connections to other policy areas? What or who is driving developments in this field?

• Why is there an emerging interest in family and parenting support and what are the implications?

• What are the driving forces underlying policy development and provision in the fields of family and parenting support?

• What are the entry points of family and parenting support in the legal and political domains?

• To what extent is existing family and parenting support policy evidence-based?

• To what extent do existing programmes and services ensure the continuum of care?  

• How are parenting programmes addressing specific needs/issues within the family?

• What are the implications of gender imbalances in the provision of family and parenting support?  

• Are existing policies challenging or reproducing traditional gender roles?  

• What is the role of communities in the provision of family and parenting support?

Presentations

Day 1:

• Family and Parenting Support: Analytical Framework and Key Orientations in Policy and Provision

• Overview analysis of UNICEF supported policy and provision in middle and lower income countries

• The Development and Implementation of a National Parent Support Policy in Jamaica, Expert Consultation on Family and Parenting Support

• Drivers of parenting support, policy and provision in Croatia

• Family and Parenting Support

• Parenting teenage victims and perpetrators of violence: lessons from research on prevention and support

Day 2:

• Family support for families at risk

• Parenting support in the context of violence prevention

• Violence prevention: how to ensure parenting support

• Family support and social protection

• Family support for prevention of family separation

• Men and Caregiving

• Gender Roles in Parenting and Family Support in Ethiopia

• Achieving Family and Community Support: Community, Education, and Equity as a Basis for Development 

For more information on the Consultation, please click here.