1 Flintshire Youth Justice Service Parenting Support Programme Supporting the Parents of Adolescents ∞ Promoting Engagement and Overcoming Resistance

2 Flintshire Parenting Support Programme  Aims to improve the relationships between parents and children with the overall aim of preventing anti-social, criminal or challenging behaviours.

3  Background  Intermediate Treatment Officer 1990 – Clwyd County  Juvenile Support Officer East Division Clwyd  Youth Offending Team Officer Flintshire  Youth Justice Service Parenting Coordinator

4  History  It was during the mid 1990s that our service began to recognise that any work with a child could be undone if no change was promoted with regard to their relationships with their parents, carers or siblings. In fact our interventions made things worse at home and in some cases it……

5  Past mistakes  Disempowered parents  Caused resentment within sibling groups  Increased attention on child’s challenging behaviours further labelling the child as the problem

6  A more holistic approach was needed.  In 1995 the youth justice service commissioned Dr Carol Sutton, De Montfort University, to deliver Positive Parenting training to our service.  This training helped us prepare for the formation of Youth offending Teams in 2000.

7  YOUTH OFFENDING TEAMS !!  Following the Crime & Disorder Act 1998 Youth Offending Teams, known as YOTs, were established in all authorities in England and Wales.

8 Legislative framework ‘’ Parenting is a challenging job. Helping parents to develop good parenting skills is an effective way of ensuring that problems in a child or young person’s behaviour or development are not allowed to grow unchecked into major difficulties for the individual, their family and the community.” Home Office (2000) Parenting Order Guidance Crime and Disorder Act 1998 Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003

9  The work with parents or carers was to be undertaken within the framework of:  Voluntary Parenting Interventions  Parenting Contracts  Parenting Orders

10 Referral routes  Multi-agency Prevent and Deter Panel  Youth Court  Young People’s Drug & Alcohol Team  Families First - Early Intervention Parent Support Programme

11  The referral and assessment process strives to help parents:  Overcome RESISTENCE  Encourage ENGAGEMENT  Increase parental SELF-CONFIDENCE  Develop RESILIENCE

12  The referral and assessment process strives to identify:  Parental strengths and weaknesses  Triggers of conflict  Parenting styles

13 Engaging with Resistance and Working Towards Change  Resistance to change is normal!  Starting where parents are and taking their feelings and views fully into account is the key to providing an effective service.

14  Engaging with Resistance and Working Towards Change  Resistance may not just reside with parents:  Time to be heard without being judged, acknowledgment of feelings, support and information sharing is as important for professionals as it is for parents.  Good staff supervision is important in order to promote engagement and keep programme integrity

15 Engaging with Resistance and Working Towards Change  Assessment is part of the intervention process.  An informal, supportive style which encourages trust building is the key to engagement. Think conversation rather than administration

16 Engaging with Resistance and Working Towards Change  The capacity to take on change is a process which comes about through the relationships made between parents and parent support workers.  Programme content is secondary to the importance of good facilitation skills and a parenting worker’s ability to maintain programme integrity.

17 Interventions include  ‘Challenging Years – Living with Teenagers’ -- individual or group intervention.  ‘Take 3’ parenting programme  Family agreement work  Resource library….Parenting CDs..Relaxation CDs  Referral to other adult services.

18 Evaluation and monitoring includes:  The Family Grid evaluation tool is used at the start and closure of an intervention.  It measures a parent’s self esteem and confidence in relation to themselves and their relationships with their child.  Parents are evaluated after 6 months of closure

19 Outcomes: Parents comments following an intervention:  ‘Since being on the course my home has become more stable, mainly because I didn’t realise that I was the root of the problem, so I changed the way I was and not tried to change my son and it really worked. No more conflict – a nice calm home. I would not have been able to realise that it was the way I was parenting that was the problem……

20 Outcomes: Parents comments following an intervention:  ‘I would not have been able to do it without the support. I stand back and think and don’t take sides any more. Things have improved so much and my son has not been getting into trouble ’.  ‘’We have to change ourselves first…’

21  Recent developments;  Flintshire’s Parenting Strategy Plan has provided framework for development  Comments made in the evaluations have led to an expansion of our service to include a referral route for an early intervention for the parents and carers of adolescents.

22  Current excitement and future plans!  Develop parent engagement in service planning and delivery  Overcome new barriers or resistance  Engage partner parents to embrace proposed scheme  Encourage new facilitators in the wider community to expand effective interventions of support  Thank you