Part 2

Parent Education Programs: (Co)construction with Parents

Parent Education Programs: (Co)construction with Parents

Anabela Duarte Costa(a)(b), Ana Cabrita(a), Luana Cunha Ferreira(a)(b),
Paula Encarnação(a), Patrícia Navalho(a), Isabel Narciso(a)(b), Guida Mendes (a)(b),
Nelson Agapito(a)(c) & João Nogueira(a)

(a) NÓS-CAFAP - Family Support and Parental Counselling Centre of Associação NÓS, Barreiro, Portugal
(b) FPCEUL - Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal
(c) ISPA - Higher Institute of Applied Psychology, Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract
The parent education / training programs that have been developed for the last two years at the Family Support and Parental Counselling Centre of NÓS were developed for and with parents of children and youth at risk as a strategy to prevent and reduce child abuse and neglect. The weekly multi focused 3 hours sessions specifically target the parent’s response to the child or youth’s needs previously evaluated according to the Framework Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (Department of Health, 2000). As so, each program is unique and its duration depends on the group’s characteristics. Parents chose several themes like “Child Development and Discipline”, “Family-School Relationship”, “Children Protection and Safety” and “Children and Domestic Violence”, which are developed with a multidisciplinary team that includes psychologists, a social worker, a lawyer and a social-cultural animator. Through a developmental perspective and a strong ecological and systems approach, these collaborative programs are designed to respond to the needs of the participants, fathers and mothers, aiming to enhance their knowledge, skills, resources and strategies, promoting a safe and stimulating healthy environment for the children and youth, through positive parenting practices. The strategies of intervention and preliminary qualitative data about the programs are discussed, as well as the future orientations.

Keywords: Parent education / training, children / youth at risk for abuse or neglect, ecosystemic approach, CAFAP

Author(s)

Anabela Duarte Costa, Ana Cabrita, Luana Cunha Ferreira, Paula Encarnacao, Patricia Navalho, Isabel Narciso, Guida Mendes, Nelson Agapito & Joao Nogueira

Corresponding author:
Address: R. Lavoisier, 2, 2830-142 Barreiro, Portugal
Telephone: +351212412990 / +351936621385 Fax: +351212072091
Email: nos.cafap@gmail.com

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