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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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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Capacity Development Plan for family support, foster care and adoption

Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, 2018

This Plan presents key findings and 23 recommendations, sub-divided into short-term, medium-term and long-term actions, for an effective and efficient implementation of foster care, adoption and family support in Cambodia.

DOVCU Learning Brief 2: The effect of DOVCU’s integrated package of services on reintegrating children and families

ChildFund International, 2018

This learning brief analyzes quantitative data from the second of the “Deinstitutionalization of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Uganda” (DOVCU) project’s stated objectives: examining the extent to which DOVCU project interventions decrease vulnerabilities for reintegrating children and their families.

2018 Home Visiting Yearbook

James Bell Associates and the Urban Institute - National Home Visiting Resource Center, 2018

The 2018 Home Visiting Yearbook uses 2017 data to present the most up-to-date look at home visiting on the US national and state levels.

Strategic actions of transnational migrant parents regarding birth registration for stay‐behind children in Lombok, Indonesia

Leslie Butt & Jessica Ball - Population, Space and Place, 2018

This multimethod qualitative study in 4 high‐migration communities in East Lombok, Indonesia, explored the strategic actions migrant parents take regarding birth registration.

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Tips for Supporting Parents in Supervised Visits

Rise Magazine, 2018

This video from Rise Magazine is designed to include in training for caseworkers, visit coaches, parent advocates and other frontline staff who will supervise or support parents during visits with children in foster care.

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