Natural Parents as Partner in child Care Placement

Abstract

A report of a unique project in child care describes how strengthening the bonds of familial relationships results in improved parental functioning

Parenting groups for parents whose children are in care

“…Staff and volunteers also experienced personal and professional benefi ts from being involved in the playgroups. These fi ndings are consistent with other programmes of this nature which report benefi ts including increased feelings of support and understanding, improved self-confi dence and parenting confi dence, more involvement in aspects of their child's development, improvement in communication, as well as developing new friendships and social networks (Gibbs and Thorpe, 1975;Simmons et al, 1973;Thomson and Thorpe, 2004). The opportunity for parents to learn new parenting skills and to practise them with children on a regular basis under supervision is a key strength of the Parents Plus Playgroups.…”

“…The purpose of the review was to identify programme evaluations of groups for parents whose children are in care; however, the search yielded only three such papers (Charbonneau and Kaplan, 1989;Simmons et al, 1973;Thomson and Thorpe, 2004). The search criteria were then expanded to include descriptions of specifi c interventions for parents whose children have been placed in care and was not limited to evaluations of programmes and interventions.…”

“…Regardless of professional background, practitioners who were non-judgemental and accepting of parents who had children in care were welcomed readily by group members. For example, the staff involved in the Family Residential Centre Programme described by Simmons et al (1973) allowed parents to assume greater responsibility for the care of their children if they so wished and it was appropriate to do so, consequently contributing to a relationship of trust and respect among staff and parents.…”

“…Other recurring topics related to parenting capacity and social problems such as domestic violence, housing problems, drug and alcohol misuse, and mental health issues. Three of the six articles emphasised the importance of parents working through their own problems fi rst before being able to anticipate the needs of and care for their children (Gibbs and Thorpe, 1975;Levin, 1992;Simmons et al, 1973).…”

Information about the absent parent as a factor in the well-being of children of single-parent families

“…He found that boys without a father living with them had idealistic, fantasy pictures of their fathers. Simmons et al (1973) also found that post-divorce children who had strong self-concepts had stronger ties to the natural family than those who did not. The authors suggest that the normal process of continuity and integration (self-concept) are often interrupted when a child loses contact with one of the parents.…”