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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An investigation of foster parent training needs

Corie G. Hebert & Heidi Kulkin- Child & Family Social Work, 20 Oct 2017

This research examines what a group of foster parents attending a state foster parent association conference felt they needed in the area of training, to help them fulfil their role.

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Country Care Review: Luxembourg

Better Care Network, 10 Oct 2017

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Prevention of family separation

Better Care Network & Child's i Foundation, 09 Oct 2017

In this video, Juliet Birungi, a social worker at Abide Family Center in Jinja, Uganda, describes the Center’s work to preserve families and prevent family separation.

Violence Against Children in All Care Settings: Africa Expert Consultation (Annex)

African Child Policy Forum & Better Care Network, 09 Oct 2017

This Annex compiles the presentations delivered at the 21-22 June 2017 Africa Expert Consultation on Violence Against Children in All Care Settings and is intended to accompany the Final Report of the meeting.

Violence Against Children in All Care Settings: Africa Expert Consultation (Final Report)

African Child Policy Forum & Better Care Network, 09 Oct 2017

This report describes the details of the Africa Expert Consultation: Violence Against Children in All Care Settings, which took place 21-22 June 2017.

3 Principles to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 01 Oct 2017

This report from the the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University in the United States argues that, to be maximally effective, policies and services should: (1) Support responsive relationships for children and adults, (2) Strengthen core life skills, and (3) Reduce sources of stress in the lives of children and families.

Innocenti Research Brief – Parenting Interventions: How well do they transport from one country to another?

Frances Gardner - UNICEF, 01 Oct 2017

This brief summarizes recent findings from two global, systematic reviews on the effectiveness of parenting interventions.

Bouncing Back: Resilience-Building in Foster Families and Youth

Lauren Marlotte - Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 01 Oct 2017

This talk will explore the adaptation of FOCUS, an evidence-based, skill-building preventive intervention, for foster families and foster youth in college and provide clinical adaptations.

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The State of Play: How have global children and youth issues fared in the U.S. government’s Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations process?

Gillian Huebner Consultant, Elevate Children Funders Group, 29 Sep 2017

This document sheds some light on where funding discussions currently stand with regard to U.S. government programs for global children and youth issues.

Global Report 2017: Ending Violence in Childhood

Know Violence in Childhood , 26 Sep 2017

The report compiles information from a series of global research papers commissioned by Know Violence, presenting the scale and scope of childhood violence globally. Examples of preventative efforts from governments, communities, and organizations are provided to illustrate the feasibility of preventing violence on local and national levels.