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

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

Edited By Dr Carmel Devaney & Dr Rosemary Crosse

This book provides an account of parenting support initiatives in children and family services from a number of jurisdictions, 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.

By focusing on parents who are experiencing challenges outside of the normal day-to-day task of parenting and in receipt of formal support services, their perspectives on the experience of receiving these supports and the difference experienced by children and family members are analysed. Conceptually driven and reflecting the individual theories and frameworks that underpinned the parenting supports, the participatory processes and the research undertaken, this book includes case studies from Australia, Bulgaria, England, Italy, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia and Spain. By highlighting the theoretical, conceptual and practical considerations required when supporting parents in an inclusive manner, it will be of interest to all scholars, students and practitioners working in the following areas: social work and social care, child development, child protection and social policy.

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.