Tusla launches new 5-year Parenting Support Strategy
New strategy looks to support parents by building on their strengths and helping them to identify solutions that will work for their children, their families, and themselves.
Tusla – Child and Family Agency has today launched its new 5-year Parenting Support Strategy, which will run until 2027. The Strategy looks to build on the progress that was achieved by the ‘Investing in Families’ parenting strategy that was launched in 2013, and marks a renewed commitment from the Agency to working with parents to enhance services and improve outcomes for all children, young people and families.
The new strategy is informed by a wide-ranging research project that was undertaken by the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway, which looked at the experiences of practitioners both in Tusla and in Tusla-funded agencies, and importantly, looked at the views and experiences of parents who were on the receiving end of support services both before and during the pandemic. The aim of the research was to explore how support services work today, how parenting supports have evolved to reflect changes in parenting, and how these supports could be better into the future.
Among the key themes that were highlighted by the research were:
- A range of specialised supports are required to meet the needs of diverse families.
- Increased awareness is needed to inform the public and practitioners on the availability of parenting and family supports.
- Collaborative and inter-agency partnerships are necessary across statutory bodies, the voluntary sector, communities, and children and families.
Launching the Tusla Parenting Support Strategy 2022-2027, Kate Duggan, National Director of Services and Integration, Tusla, said:
“Supporting parents and those in a parenting role is integral to the work of Tusla. This new Parenting Support Strategy will guide how we will deliver more focused and consistent services to children, families and communities over the coming years. A significant focus for us has been to ensure that the strategy is informed by evidence, and by the voices of all stakeholders, most importantly the voices of parents, or those in a parenting role. We look forward to working with all stakeholders, to ensure that together we can deliver services that meet the needs of children, parents, families, and the wider community.”
Speaking at the launch of the Tusla Parenting Support Strategy 2022-2027, Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration, Roderic O'Gorman TD said:
“Parenting supports directly assist parents in their parenting role – looking after the health, wellbeing and development of their child and navigating the many predictable, and unpredictable, challenges that come with this role.”
“Today’s launch of Tusla’s Parenting Support Strategy underpins these aims, and closely aligns with Supporting Parents: A National Model of Parenting Support Services, which I recently launched. By working together, with parents, community organisations, and across Government, we can provide evidence-based supports that meet the diverse needs of parents, no matter where they live or what their circumstances are.”
In developing this new Strategy, Tusla has worked closely with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth, which has recently launched the National Model of Parenting Support Services. Tusla’s new Parenting Support Strategy is aligned to this new National Model.
The Tusla Parenting Support Strategy 2022-2027 and associated research documents are available on the Tusla website at: https://www.tusla.ie/publications/parentingstrategy/