Supporting Parents – serie

With a unique focus on the effects of poverty on parenting in Britain, this book explores what professionals and policy makers can do to support families living in poverty.The authors examine community-level poverty and its relationship to family and individual problems such as low income, poor mental health and child behavioural difficulties. Using data from the first nationally representative survey of parents living in especially poor circumstances, they assess the wider help parents receive, both through formal support services and through informal networks of family and friends. Drawing on a study of 1750 parents by the Policy Research Bureau for Department of Health, this book shows what service-users think of the resources available to them and how policy and practice in family support services could be improved.

Social workers and allied professionals will find this book to be a valuable tool, highlighting ways of improving the cultural sensitivity of disability services and parental and family support. Combining a wide-ranging survey and in-depth interviews, the authors build a rich picture of the lives of South Asian families with a child with severe disabilities and place their experiences in the wider context of how culture and ethnicity can impact on a family's experience of disability.The authors offer clear ideas for practical improvements in:* awareness and mobilisation of formal support services* parental and extended family acceptance of the child's disability* availability of support groups and other informal support* parents' physical and mental health* the child and family's social lifelinking their findings to recent policy initiatives to improve the information and support offered to all carers.Policy makers, academics and practitioners in health, social work and education will find the authors give an invaluable insight into the cultural, religious and language needs of ethnic minority families coping with disability.

Foster carers look after two-thirds of the children cared for by English local authorities at any one time. The recruitment and retention of these carers is one of these authorities' central concerns. Against this background, Foster Carers examines the joys, sadnesses and strains of fostering, the support carers want and need, and the reasons why they continue or cease fostering.Drawing on questionnaire responses from a thousand foster carers across seven different local authorities, the authors highlight the importance of providing support that:* is adapted to the carers' families* contains the basic elements of reasonable payment, relevant training and reliable social work support* responds sensitively to serious crises and treats carers as part of a team* meets the specific needs of carers such as carers' groups and relief breaks.Foster Carers forms one part of the largest recent study into foster care in the UK. It is an invaluable resource for policy makers and practitioners, as well as local authorities formulating policies for the support and training needed by foster carers, and is essential reading for social work professionals, academics and foster carers themselves.

How can we determine success in foster placements? Based on exhaustive research, the authors discuss the primary concerns in foster placement planning, considering the high frequency of placement breakdowns, their impact on the child's behaviour and school performance, and the challenges this places on foster families.The specific needs of the foster child are given close attention in determining a pathway to success. By monitoring and describing the individual characteristics of the child within the context of the placement, the authors are able to reveal what types of supports are most beneficial.The implications for this research are considerable. Social workers are given new methods of assessing the needs of foster children which emphasise the process of care and not just the outcome. Policy makers are provided with rich qualitative accounts with which to increase and strengthen the success of foster placements. This is essential reading for social workers, policy makers and foster families.

`Whose view counts when we decide what "support" to offer or what qualifies as "success"? What kind of support do parents prefer? And can we assume that all parents, by virtue of parents, want the same kind of support? These important questions are discussed in Supporting Parents: Messages from Research. Author David Quinton is professor of psychosocial development at Bristol university's school for policy studies. His report reviews the results of 14 very different research projects selected in 1994 as part of the then government's contribution to International Year of the Family. This penetrating overview which explores and analyses the over-arching themes and outcomes concerning the nature and experience of support that is evident from these diverse projects.'* Zero to Nineteen* How can agencies mobilize the best support for parents and carers as a vital part of the Children's National Service Framework?* What kinds of support do parents and carers themselves say they find most effective?* What do parents who have difficulties seem to lack in the way of support?* What exactly do we mean by `support' and `parenting'?Supporting Parents brings together authoritative research on supporting parents and carers. Underpinning the government's developing policy for children's services, it is essential reading for practitioners, policy makers and academics working in child care.Professor David Quinton, a nationally recognized authority in the field of parenting and child development, summarizes the key findings of an innovative government-funded series of research studies. The studies explored subjects as diverse as parenting in poverty, disabled parents and children, step-parenting, teenage parents, imprisoned fathers, and parents who reject their children.Drawing out the key messages for practice and policy, this accessible overview shows how `informal' support can be complemented by the provision of a fully integrated multi-agency response from health care, education and social services. This important book should be read by all those professionals working with children and their families, including social workers, teachers, GPs and health visitors.

More than 125,000 children in the UK alone are 'sentenced' to separation from their imprisoned parents, mainly fathers. Gwyneth Boswell and Peter Wedge draw on extensive research and experience to examine the effect this kind of separation can have on the emotional development of a child and on family relationships.They make suggestions for work with prisoners and families in the light of current policy and practice and consider how best to support:* children coming to terms with conflicting emotions arising from fathers' imprisonment* fathers who may be teenagers themselves* mothers or carers coping with absent partners* prison staff trying to incorporate the family as a factor in rehabilitation.Examining the rights and needs of imprisoned fathers and their children and using case examples to demonstrate effective ways of maintaining contact and communication, this is an indispensable resource for all those working with the families of fathers in prison.