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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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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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.

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.

What can agencies do to increase foster carer satisfaction?

Melanie Randle, Leonie Miller & Sara Dolnicar - Child & Family Social Work, 21 Sep 2017

The purpose of this study is to determine which factors associated with foster care agencies contribute to higher levels of foster carer satisfaction.

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Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Opportunities: Parenting, Programs, and the Reduction of Risk

Julia Rudolph, Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck, Dianne C. Shanley, and Russell Hawkins - Child Maltreatment, 18 Sep 2017

The purpose of this article is to explore how child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention opportunities can include parents in new and innovative ways.

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Randomized controlled trial of a parenting program to reduce the risk of child maltreatment in South Africa

Jamie M. Lachman, Lucie Cluver, Catherine L. Ward, Judy Hutchings, Sindisiwe Mlotshwa, Inge Wessels, Frances Gardner - Child Abuse & Neglect, 04 Sep 2017

This study is the first randomized controlled trial design to rigorously test the effectiveness of a parenting program on reducing the risk of child maltreatment in sub-Saharan Africa using both observational and self-report assessments.

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Left behind: How to encourage biological parents' involvement in their children's group homes

Yafit Sulimani-Aidan - Child & Family Social Work, 31 Aug 2017

This paper addresses the challenges and benefits of involving biological parents in group homes in Israel and presents various means to encourage their involvement in care.

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Case Study on Improving HIV Testing and Services for Children Orphaned or made Vulnerable by HIV (OVC): Approaches of the Yekokeb Berhan Program for Highly Vulnerable Children in Ethiopia

Francesca Stuer & Kate Greenaway - 4Children/CRS, 25 Aug 2017

In this case study, Coordinating Comprehensive Care of Children (4Children) documents and evaluates the work of Pact's Yekokeb Berhan Program for Highly Vulnerable Children in Ethiopia.