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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Building Social Connectedness: A Brief Guide for Practitioners Working with Children and Youth

Shirley Pendlebury - Synergos Institute, 2014

This brief guide: defines social isolation and social connectedness; explains why it is important to build social connectedness; outlines enabling policies; provides guidelines on how practitioners can support children and youth to build meaningful social connections.

From a Whisper to a Shout: A Call to End Violence Against Children in Alternative Care

SOS Children’s Villages and the University of Bedfordshire , 2014

This report from SOS Children’s Villages and the University of Bedfordshire provides reviews and assessments of the implementation of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children in 21 countries around the world.

Alternative Care: An Animated Film

Save the Children, 2014

This animated video, produced by Save the Children, tells the story of Suman, a boy whose mother sends him to a care center as she is having difficulty caring for him.

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Practitioner Review: Engaging fathers – recommendations for a game change in parenting interventions based on a systematic review of the global evidence

Catherine Panter-Brick, Adrienne Burgess, Mark Eggerman, Fiona McAllister, Kyle Pruett, and James F. Leckman - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2014

In this study, the researchers conducted a systematic database and a thematic hand search of the global literature on parenting interventions in order to gather and assess the evidence on father participation and impact in parenting interventions. This article presents the results of the study and identifies three key priorities for successfully engaging fathers.

Imbeleko Report: Cultivating Resourcefulness, Not Dependency

Mr Vuyani Patrick Ntanjana & Mr Fezile July - Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, 2014

The purpose of the ‘Imbeleko and social connectedness’ project was to conduct a cross-sectional study in order to explore and describe indigenous ways of care and support to inform policy and intervention.

Reflections on Africa’s Indigenous Knowledge of parenting: Indigenous parenting practices of different communities in Africa

Parenting in Africa Network (PAN), 2014

This publication, produced by the Parenting in Africa Network (PAN), highlights the skillful parenting practices of several pastoral communities in Africa.

Child Welfare Policies, Services And Their Aptitude For Care And Protection Of Vulnerable Children And Their Families

Project EDU-CARE, Department of Social Work at St. Xavier's College, 2014

The Technical Team under the Project “EDU-CARE: Social Operators Active in the Protection of the Children and in the Promotion of the Children’s Rights in Nepal” reports on the child care practices, policies, and programs currently in effect in the country.

Understanding Kinship Care of Children in Africa: A Family Environment or an Alternative Care Option?

Usang Maria Assim - Comparative African Legal Studies, 2014

This book explores the legal and human rights dimensions of kinship care, the preferred alternative to parental care in the African context.

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Family Inclusive Child Protection Practice: The History of the Family Inclusion Network and Beyond

Frank Ainsworth and John Berger, 2014

This article records briefly the history of the Family Inclusion Network as an organisation that promotes family inclusive child protection practice.

Drumming Together for Change: A Child’s Right to Quality Care in Sub-Saharan Africa

SOS Children’s Villages, Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland, University of Malawi, 2014

This report is based on a synthesis of eight assessments of the implementation of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (“the Guidelines”) in Benin, Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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