Facilitators and Barriers to Parental Visitation Mary Salveron, PhD Candidate / Research Assistant Supervisors: Dr Michael Proeve and Dr Fiona Arney

Children in out of home care OHC 30 th June , th June , th June ,695 AIHW, 2006

Who are the Parents of Children in Care? Parent Characteristics  Social and economic deprivation  Domestic violence  Substance misuse  Mental illness  Developmental disabilities  Young motherhood (Centre for Community Child Health, 2004; Thomson & Thorpe, 2003)

Parental Visitation has been found to be a strong predictor of family reunification

What facilitates Parental Visitation? (Warsh & Pine as cited in Kluger, Alexander & Curtis, 2000) –Distance between homes –Training staff and foster parents in planning and carrying out positive visits –Formal visitation plans –Purposeful visiting –Gradual visitation intensity

What are the Barriers to Parental Visitation? (Warsh & Pine as cited in Kluger, Alexander & Curtis, 2000) –Difficulty in engaging families –Agency and system related factors Time constraints Foster parent requests Agency policies and norms Transportation resources Caseworker perceptions about child’s best interests –What about psychological barriers? Positive and Negative Emotions

Parents Plus Playgroups Initiative by Good Beginnings Australia and Families SA Aim: –Build better relationships between parent and child through modelling and mentoring –Provide parent education in a non- judgemental and non-threatening environment

About the Parents Plus Playgroups Supervised Playgroup Children brought to playgroup by Families SA volunteers Parent and child interact (a range of activities are available) Parents can out into practice what they learnt in the Parenting Education Sessions Includes a structured component (singing time, story time, and fruit time) Parenting Education and Debriefing Sessions Discuss playgroup session (what worked well, things that didn’t work for them, changes that could be made) Discuss parenting topics Discuss parenting topics for the following week Parenting Education Discuss parenting topics (nutrition, child development) Delivered in a non-judgemental and non-threatening environment Facilitators and staff are responsive and flexible to parents needs 1.5 hours 1 hour

Parents Plus Playgroups Attendance to Playgroups guarantee family reunification DO NOT

Research Questions What are the staff and client’s perceptions of the Parents Plus Playgroups? Did the playgroups lead to perceived improvements in interactions between parents and children? In this project, what were the facilitators and barriers to parental participation? Were these factors the same across the programs and across sites? What changes could be made to the playgroups to improve the processes for families and staff?

Evaluation Design –Action Research Methodology –Investigation of the perceived outcomes of changes made by the playgroups Procedures –Conducted 1:1 interviews, focus groups, questionnaires Measures –Parents Plus Playgroup Satisfaction –Parenting Sense of Confidence –Social Support –Feelings (shame)

Facilitators of Playgroup Success Being able to spend time with child I am closer with my son and he is happy to see me now. It’s better that there is one on one time for me and him Parent

Facilitators of Playgroup Success Environment in which programs are delivered Mode of delivery (Group work) Being part of this group puts me on a natural high. I feel good about myself, no one judges me and the children are also more relaxed Parent I have more confidence and actually have a reason to get out of the house. I am slowly building friendships because we are all in the same boat here Parent

Facilitators of Playgroup Success Nature of visits Level of parental and familial involvement in planning Before the kids come, we learn about different things, are given ideas and learn through role modelling. This is the best way for me because I can practice what I learnt with my child and see what works and what doesn’t. Seeing the workers with the children also helped Parent It is flexible so the parents don’t have to come in and something is going on in their lives like domestic violence but they have to sit there and listen to us telling them how much sugar is in a can of coke. You need to be flexible with people, especially when there is so much going on in someone’s life Staff/Volunteer

Facilitators of Playgroup Success Characteristics of professionals delivering programs The staff and volunteers are wonderful and they come here every week and take us for who we are. They don’t judge us either and there are a lot of judgemental people out there Parent The parents were constantly told to be positive…you don’t get recognition you deserve and here you get that and you know what, you eventually start to believe it. You forget the negatives and concentrate on the positives Parent

What about parents’ emotions? Parents expressed a range and emotions in dealing with their circumstances I was so angry but I’ve learnt there’s no point being half cocked and I need to control my temper. It’s hard with CYFS telling you what to do. All I wanted was to blow everyone up (family, CYFS social worker, people who I thought were my friends Parent I don’t get so aggro anymore and sometimes we use the hour before the kids come to vent and release some of our problems Parent I’m a better person and I’m much happier. CYFS have also noticed a difference and noticed an improvement in me. I am a stronger and more confident person Parent

Proposed Research Study Explore feelings of parents whose children are in care Explore perspectives of professionals on challenge of engaging and working with these families Examine factors that facilitate and inhibit visitation to promote parent-child reunification (contextual and psychological factors)

Proposed Research Study Child Placement Emotions Time Involuntary Removal Voluntary Removal