The provision of parenting support is a key feature of wealthier nations' health and social care services. However, attendance and engagement by the neediest parents remains poor. Barriers experienced by parents include personal life factors (beliefs, lifestyles and limited resources) and programme-specific factors (delivery, content and support…

While recent years have seen a rapid growth of research exploring the usefulness of parenting support programmes, no empirical research to date has specifically explored experiences of compulsory parenting support. The present study examines the narrative accounts of 17 parents who, through a Parenting Order, were made to participate in such…

Children who accompany their parents or guardians during a period of homelessness make up 37% (more than one in three) of all people accessing the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) services. This paper describes an Australian qualitative study that explored the experiences of children who accompanied their families during periods…

At the beginning of 2008, a number of the world's major economies began to experience the effects of the biggest economic financial crisis in history. By the end of that year, the financial crisis was a global recession, and governments responded with changes to a suite of social and economic policies. Two broad stages of government response are…

The role of social support in child welfare policy and practice continues to engender widespread debate. Yet the moral and philosophical underpinnings of this topical area have received less attention in the literature. This is of concern, not least because academic debates on the "politics of identity" have a significant contribution to make to…

The importance of early school experiences in the personal and social development of young refugees and asylum-seekers has been documented by researchers and enshrined in practice guidelines. The capacity of schools to implement these guidelines is, however, limited, in terms of the availability of appropriate knowledge and skills, financial…

Details study of the use of two open access, multiuse, community-based family centers in South Wales. Notes that most users were young women, half of them with children. Discusses the benefits and limitations of these centers, and a potential shift in emphasis along a social-development model. (JPB)

Presents challenges to the public child-welfare system in the United States, including growing deprivation, increasing needs for lengthy out-of-home placements, and shortages of foster caregivers. Describes the Family to Family initiative to help public agencies strengthen community-based family support services, improve the quality and quantity…

In 2002 the authors evaluated a family support project known as Working with Families managed by the Children's Society and located in a primary school on a large, mainly white council estate in Rochdale. Our reflections on some of the issues which emerged in relation to basing family support services in a school setting seem timely in the light…

Discusses the need to examine effectiveness of services to children and families in central and eastern Europe, focusing on programs in Hungary. Notes that financial considerations and differences in objectives have increased the importance of outcomes measurement. Reports that the pilot implementation of "Looking After Children"…

Discusses issues related to measuring outcomes of social-work interventions with children. Emphasizes the need for regular, carefully timed assessments. Argues that approach and perspective differences obscure relationships between program and child outcomes and that assessing family-services outcomes raises accountability questions. Suggests that…

The NHS has emphasised the need for rigorous evaluations of preventative home-visiting support (Bull and others, 2004) in building a public health evidence base. Interdisciplinary studies involving the NHS in any capacity are subject to ethical review by NHS Research Ethics Committees. However, the current process of ethical review does not…

This paper presents findings of an evaluation of a one-off, small scale, pilot project. Picking up where Sure Start, the government programme for families of newborns to threes, leaves off, "Families in Focus" works with children aged four to 16 on a disadvantaged council estate in London. Through this route, the programme also reaches…

Evaluates an attempt to establish a support group for parents and relatives whose children were in the care of one health board, based on a qualitative study supplemented by individual interviews. Shows that this support group was successful. Suggests ways in which the therapeutic potential of such groups could be enhanced and more parents…

Explored use of respite care by 60 families to help prevent family breakdown. Found that after nine months, parents were more in control of their lives and had reduced family problems. Ninety-two percent of families remained intact. Social workers were more satisfied with the intervention in less-complex than in more-complex cases. Children…