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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A qualitative exploration of the experiences of adoptive parents attending ‘Nurturing Attachments’, a dyadic developmental psychotherapy informed group

Olivia Hewitt, Ben Gurney-Smith, Kim Golding - Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 22 Jan 2018

This study evaluates the ‘Nurturing Attachment’ program in the UK, a Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy intervention for adoptive families.

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Maternal incarceration, child protection, and infant mortality: a descriptive study of infant children of women prisoners in Western Australia

Caitlin McMillen Dowell, Gloria C. Mejia, David B. Preen and Leonie Segal - Health & Justice, 15 Jan 2018

This study draws on linked administrative data to describe the exposure of children aged less than 2 years to maternal imprisonment in Western Australia, their contact with child protection services, and infant mortality rates.

Randomized Trial of Home Visitation for CPS-Involved Families: The Moderating Impact of Maternal Depression and CPS History

Melissa Jonson-Reid, Brett Drake, John N. Constantino, Mini Tandon, Laura Pons2, Patricia Kohl, Scott Roesch, Ellie Wideman, Allison Dunnigan, Wendy Auslander - Child Maltreatment, 11 Jan 2018

This paper presents findings from an 18-month randomized controlled trial in which intact families (N = 122) with at least one CPS report were provided with a facilitated connection to a paraprofessional evidence-based HV program or usual care services from child protection.

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Parents’ Understanding of Adopted Children’s Ways of Being, Belonging, and Becoming

Waganesh A. Zeleke, Lynne S. Koester, Gabriella Lock - Journal of Child and Family Studies, 11 Jan 2018

In this study, the authors examined the process of how relationships are built between Ethiopia adoptees and their adoptive families within the new family setting.

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Violence and maltreatment in Tanzanian families—Findings from a nationally representative sample of secondary school students and their parents

Mabula Nkuba, Katharin Hermenau, Tobias Hecker - Child Abuse & Neglect, 09 Jan 2018

This study examined the prevalence of maltreatment and violent discipline from both the adolescents’ and parents’ perspectives.

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Supporting Relative Caregivers in Los Angeles—An Interview with Judge Michael Nash, Ret.

Claire Chiamulera - Child Law Practice Today, 09 Jan 2018

In this article from the Child Law Practice Today July/August 2017 Issue on Kinship Care, Los Angeles Judge Michael Nash, Ret. shares court and agency strategies to engage and support relatives for children and families involved in the child welfare system in the US.

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First Nations parenting and child reunification: Identifying strengths, barriers, and community needs within the child welfare system

Elaine Toombs, Alexandra S. Drawson, Tina Bobinski, John Dixon, Christopher J. Mushquash - Child & Family Social Work, 05 Jan 2018

A First Nations child welfare organization has prioritized further understanding of reunification and parenting, including identification of successes and barriers to reunification, and service needs within communities. These priorities were addressed with a community-based participatory research model and guided by a Research Advisory.

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Developing the social work role in the Indonesian child protection system

Patrick John O’Leary, Amy Young, Donna McAuliffe, Yanuar Wismayanti - International Social Work, 03 Jan 2018

This article outlines exploratory research in establishing a role for social work in child protection in Indonesia.

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Parental participation in child protection practice: The experiences of parents and workers in Ghana

Ebenezer Cudjoe & Alhassan Abdullah - Qualitative Social Work, 02 Jan 2018

This is the first study in Ghana to explore child protection workers and parents’ experiences on participatory practices.

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2018 Prevention Resource Guide: Keeping Children Safe and Families Strong in Supportive Communities

Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families , 2018

This Resource Guide was developed to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and their children to prevent child abuse and neglect and promote child and family well-being.