Voice of Parents: a Model for Inclusion project
About the Voice of Parents project
The Voice of Parents project is a two-year project led by the Centre, supported by Gandel Philanthropy and Equity Trustees.
As an ever-increasing number of Victorian parents are engaged with the Child and Family Services System, and the impacts of COVID-19 set to create even more pressure, hearing parents’ voice and embedding a model for parents’ participation is critical to improving outcomes for families and enabling children to thrive.
The Voice of Parents project will develop a framework for parent voices to be heard through a Charter of Parental Participation, an agreed principles that can be applied across organisations and programs in the child and family services sector, and a Parent Participation Model (with a practical tool kit of resources). These resources will be used by government and the child and family services sector across Victoria for the inclusion of parents’ voice in their work.
Benefits
The Voice of Parents continues the Centre’s commitment to promoting client voice and learning from those with lived experience to achieve better outcomes for children and support parents in their critical role in their child’s life.
Anticipated benefits of the project include:
- Parents will be provided with opportunity for their voice to be heard and for greater awareness of their experience in the critical touch points in the child and family system. This will inform the development of a systemic approach to parental participation through resources such as the Parent Participation Toolkit and the Charter of Parental Participation created through the project.
- The project will develop a model and supporting resources to establish and embed parent participation in organisations in the child and family services sector. This will enable organisations to effectively design and deliver services that best meet the needs of children and families experiencing vulnerability who are accessing their services.
- The project will drive sector collaboration in bringing together a broad range of stakeholders in the design of an effective model and encouragement of implementation.
- The project will develop an evidence base of international and national participatory programs that will build on the limited existing knowledge of parental participation
Expressions of Interest - Voice of Parents Reference Group
The Voice of Parents project has invited Expressions of Interest from senior organisational representatives from the child and family welfare sector and adjacent sectors who would like to join the Reference Group to support the project.
Expressions of Interest were due by Friday 11 September 2020 and applicants will be notified of outcome by Friday 25 September.
In order to develop a sustainable, effective, practical model, the Voice of Parents project requires support and input from all the child and family welfare sector, including adjacent sectors such as legal and health. Other opportunities to get involved will be shared as they become available.
Should you be interested in the Reference Group, or other opportunities to participate, please email Danielle Walt at danielle.walt@cfecfw.asn.au
Research and resources
The Voice of Parents is committed to ensuring that relevant research on parental participation is available, to address the limitations of existing knowledge on parental participation.
Relevant articles:
- Effects of an interdisciplinary approach to parental representation in child welfare
- Engagement of birth parents involved in the child protection system: A scoping review of frameworks, policies, and practice guides
- Parents and Family Members Matter: A Charter of Rights and Responsibilities for Parents and Family Members with Children in the Care of Child Protection Services in Australia
- Rebalancing the Scales: Access to Justice for Parents in the Tasmanian Child Safety System
- Shared Strength: Families Taking their Place at the Table
Contact
If you would like to learn more about the Voice of Parents project or have a query relating to any of the information above, please contact Danielle Walt at danielle.walt@cfecfw.asn.au.
