Parenting support in europe by Eugenio Belgieri

Government and service providers involved in parenting support

Daly (2012) argues that although parenting support is not an entirely new type of social policy, it includes two new dimensions, namely the focus on parenting competences as something than can be developed and the fact that the public sector is intervening in this area, which was previously considered to belong solely to the private sphere. This section considers the role of different levels of public administration in the provision of parenting support and how it is organised across different areas of social policy. The development of parental support policy is generally the responsibility of the national/federal government, while the implementation of the programmes through the provision of parenting support activities is, in most cases, a responsibility of the local/municipal agencies. At national level, the central authorities, such as ministries dealing with child protection, families or social inclusion issues, are responsible for the legislative framework and regulations, the drafting of national action plans and for financial support. In Austria, for example, legislation at the federal level sets out the services that need to be delivered by the different regions (Länder), including the guidelines that organisations need to fulfil in order to receive federal funding. The main responsibility for implementing these regulations lies at the regional level, with different degrees of coordination and funding. The federal level also provides nationwide support for parents (for example, family counselling).

Role of the national/federal level The formulation and development of national policies is mostly the responsibility of one leading governmental agency, but it often involves different ministries (such as education, health, welfare, etc.) and departments. According to the OECD (2009), ‘public policy advice and delivery for children can be organised along outcome dimensions (e.g. Ministries of Health, Education, and Welfare) or along population lines (Ministries of Child and Young People). Some countries have combinations of both.’ In Ireland, parenting support policies were managed from 1994 until 2011 by a Minister of State for Children, a junior minister who did not hold cabinet rank and who worked together with ministers in the departments of health, justice and education. A full cabinet Minister for Children and Youth Affairs role was created in March 2011. In Sweden, parenting support was developed in the late 1960s as part of health policy. The Day Nursery Commission of 1968 set out parenting education schemes targeting future parents, parents at child health clinics and parents with children at school. Two factors were decisive in creating momentum for further development of parenting support policies: the growing scientific evidence regarding the health benefits of parenting support and the signature of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which highlighted the need to support parents in order to maximise the health status of children. In Austria, parenting support is a central element of family policy: strengthening the competence of parents in the upbringing of their children is an explicit aim of family policy in Austria. Family counselling has been supported financially by the Federal Ministry since the mid-1970s and parental education programmes since the mid-1990s. The Ministry of Education started disseminating education material in the 1970s. The government also started funding Family Counselling Offices in the 1970s after the legalisation of abortion and divorce. The Ministry for Economy, 13 Family and Youth hosts a website with information about parenting support and since the 1980s has published a magazine called Parent Letters (Elternbriefe) that focuses on special topics (e.g. single parents, parents of children with disabilities) or development stages.

http://www.eltern-bildung.at/