International Perspectives on Parenting Support and Parental Participation in Children and Family Services

This book provides an account of parenting support initiatives in children and family services from around the world, paying particular attention to their impact on both ’hard’ and ’soft’ outcomes for participants, and to the inclusion of parents in the design and delivery of these supports.

Carmel Devaney is an Associate Director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, Head of Discipline of Applied Social Science, and a Lecturer in the School of Political Science and Sociology at the University of Galway, Ireland. Carmel is an Academic Director of the MA in Family Support Studies and teaches and researches in the areas of child protection and welfare, family support, parenting support and children and young people in care. Prior to joining the University, Carmel worked for many years in statutory children and family services as both a practitioner and manager.

Rosemary Crosse is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, School of Political Science and Sociology, University of Galway. Rosemary works in the area of parenting support and participation. In addition to her academic work, Rosemary is a member of The Parenting and Family Studies Alliance, which aims to promote and facilitate critical inquiry into the changing nature of parenting and family life in modern society. Rosemary is also a member of the Parenting Network, which has been a central part of an all-island approach to promote the value of parenting support and to secure the necessary policy and strategies to embed parenting supports as key elements of all child and family infrastructure in Ireland and Northern Ireland.