Parenting Support & Parental Participation

Overview

Parenting support is both a way of working and a set of activities that provides information, advice and assistance to parents and carers about bringing up their children, so that these children will reach their full potential. Most parents will access parenting supports at some point, ranging from healthcare visits, to parent and toddler groups, to parenting programmes. We are interested in finding out if Tusla’s work in parenting support is providing the support parents need, when they need it.

We want to know if parents are engaged and participating in services, and if they feel they are benefitting from services. We also want to know how practitioners are working, and if their training is effective.

The main activities to be undertaken in relation to this work package are to:

Produce and implement training materials, based on evidence of what works
Identify parent support champions in each of the 17 areas
Develop and implement parent participation toolkit
Develop and apply an evaluation framework for parenting support strategy linked to family wellbeing
Develop an Alternative Care Strategy, training and materials for children and young people in the care of the State
Support Home School Liaison personnel
Develop capacity of Irish Foster Care Association to support parents
Develop Toolkit and associated training on Parent Participation
Implement Seed Fund to support local parent participation actions

Intended Outcomes

The primary intended outcomes from this component of Tusla’s work are that:

A strategic approach to parenting is increasingly delivering cost-effective better practice and better outcomes for parents and children, thus reducing inequalities
The participation of children and parents is embedded in TUSLA’s culture and operations

Overarching Research Questions

As outlined above, the overarching questions in this Work Package are:

Is there a strategic approach to parenting in place within Tusla? Is it resulting in cost-effective better practice? Is participation by parents embedded in the structures and culture of Tusla?

As this Work Package is extensive and multi-stranded, a variety of methods will be used including documentary analysis (e.g. an analysis of the evidence base of Tusla-wide support for parenting programmes in 2017), interviews and surveys, and secondary analysis of Work Force Development monitoring data. The innovative nature of some of the actions – e.g. parenting support champions or seed funds – suggest the value of case-studies geared towards generating key learning. we will talk to service providers, practitioners and parents about their experiences of parenting support and parental participation, looking at how we can continue to provide better services for parents.

Work Package Leads

Academic Staff: Dr. Carmel Devaney, Dr Rosemary Crosse, Doctoral Scholar: Ms. Carmen Kealy

RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS:

Crosse, R. and Devaney, C. (2018) Parenting Support and Parental Participation Work Package Final Report: Tusla’s Programme for Prevention, Partnership and Family Support. Galway: UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway.

Final Report‌

Key Findings ‌

Crosse, R. and Devaney, C. (2018) Parental Participation: Overall Survey Findings. Galway : UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway.

Crosse, R. and Devaney, C. (2018)Parenting Support and Parental Participation: Qualitative Interview Findings. Galway: UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway.

Crosse, R. and Devaney, C. (2018) Report of Parental Participation Seed-Funded Projects Galway: UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway.

Crosse, R. and Devaney, C. (2018) Tusla’s Parenting Support Champions Project: Process, Implementation and Outcome. Galway: UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway.

Crosse, R. and Devaney, C. (2018) Second Report of the Parenting Support Champions Regional Learning Group. Galway: UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway.

Crosse, R., Devaney, C. and Connolly, N. (2017) Parental Participation Survey Report. Galway: UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway.

Crosse, R. and Devaney, C. (2017) Report of the Parenting Support Champions Regional Learning Group. Galway: UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway.

Crosse, R. and Devaney, C. (2017) Parenting Support Champions Questionnaire Report. Galway: UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway.

Connolly, N., Devaney, C. and Crosse, R. (2017) Parenting Support and Parental Participation: Mapping Parenting Support in the Irish Context. Galway: The UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway.

Connolly, N. and Devaney C. (2016) Working with Families: A Review of the Literature on Parental Participation. Galway: The UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway.

Journal Articles

Connolly, N. & Devaney, C. (2017) 'Parenting Support: Policy and Practice in the Irish Context', Child Care in Practice, DOI: 10.1080/13575279.2016.1264365.