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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Children Need Families Not Orphanages

Lumos, 04 Sep 2015

This animated video from Lumos, narrated by Lumos founder J.K. Rowling, illustrates the “tragic consequences of orphanage care,” and argues that more can and should be done to support families to care for their children, eliminating the use of institutional care.

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Out of time: theorizing family in social work practice

Kate Morris, Sue White, Paula Doherty, and Lisa Warwick - Children & Family Social Work, 01 Aug 2015

This paper draws on a British Academy (BA) funded study exploring social workers’ conceptions of family using a vignette and focus groups.

The Power Of A Single Story: Why Orphan Prevention

Kelsey Nielsen, Co-Founder of Abide Family Center - Faith to Action Initiative Archives, 20 Jul 2015

This post from the Faith to Action Initiative highlights the work of the Abide Family Center in Uganda, which helps to keep families together.

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Behavior problems of children in foster care: Associations with foster mothers’ representations, commitment, and the quality of mother–child interaction

Karine Dubois-Comtois, Annie Bernier, George M. Tarabulsy, Chantal Cyr, Diane St-Laurent, Anne-Sophie Lanctôt, Janie St-Onge, Ellen Moss, Marie-Julie Béliveau - Child Abuse & Neglect, 15 Jul 2015

This study investigated different environmental and contextual factors associated with maltreated children's adjustment in foster care in Quebec, Canada.

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Do fathers care? Measuring mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of fathers’ involvement in caring for young children in South Africa

Gareth D. Mercer - Doctoral Thesis, University of British Columbia, 01 Jul 2015

This Doctoral Thesis explores whether children in South Africa who reside with their biological father have better health than children whose fathers live elsewhere.

State of the World’s Fathers Child Rights Perspective Report 2015

Piotr Pawlak, Laxman Belbase, Lena Karlsson - Save the Children, 25 Jun 2015

This report was developed by Save the Children to accompany the State of the World’s Fathers 2015 report (SOWF), produced by MenCare. This Child Rights Perspective report is an excerpt of the main SOWF report, highlighting the content from the main report that is related to children’s rights and gender equality.

State of Africa’s Fathers 2015

Sonke Gender Justice, 17 Jun 2015

This report from Sonke Gender Justice is an adaptation of the global State of the World’s Fathers report, produced by Mencare. The report highlights the research and findings from the State of the World’s Fathers report that are specific to Africa.

State of the World’s Fathers 2015

MenCare Campaign, 16 Jun 2015

The first-ever State of the World's Fathers report, produced by MenCare, a global fatherhood campaign, provides a periodic, data-driven snapshot of the state of men's contributions to parenting and caregiving globally.

Promoting Education for Vulnerable Children by Supporting Families: A Holistic Intervention in Uganda

Stephanie Simmons Zuilkowski & Inbal Alon - Journal of Social Service Research, 11 Jun 2015

This article reports on the Western Uganda Bantwana Program, which worked with more than 1,000 HIV/AIDS-affected families with the goals of improving socioeconomic status, psychosocial functioning, and educational participation.

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"Being a Father:" A State of the World's Fathers Film

MenCare Campaign, 10 Jun 2015

This video was launched alongside the first ever “State of the World’s Fathers” report, produced by the MenCare Campaign. The video features interviews with fathers, mothers, and children.

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