Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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156. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the positive parenting initiative, as set out in Better Outcomes, Brighter Future; if extended locations for the initiative are to be proposed; the funding provided for the initiative for 2015 and 2016; if a benchmarking and evaluation exercise on the outcomes of the initiative has been undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40933/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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There are a number of commitments with regard to the provision of support for parents set out in Better Outcomes, Brighter Future;the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People.

With regard to positive parenting initiatives I am informed that the Child and Family Agency continues to implement the Parenting Support Strategy which was launched in 2013. This gives a mandate for the commissioning of evidence based Parenting Support Programmes in all 17 Child and Family Agency local areas in conjunction with the Children and Young People Services Committees (CYPSC) which are led by the Agency's Area Managers. This is in keeping with the High Level Policy Statement on supporting Parents and Families launched by me earlier this year in accordance with the commitment to do so in the Policy Framework.

The Child and Family Agency funds a range of Parenting Support Programmes including those with a focus on positive parenting, parenting & toddler services, Lifestart, Springboard projects, Parentline, the Marte Meo model, lone parent services and Treoir. These are delivered through various entities including the large network of Family Resource Centres.

‘Supporting Parenting’ is a significant strand of work within the Prevention Partnership and Family Support Mainstreaming Programme within the Agency and partner organisations, which is funded by Atlantic Philanthropies. €340,000 will be available to the 17 Agency Areas in 2016-2017 to support ‘Parental Participation’ practices. Parental participation, first and foremost, is about supporting parents to participate positively in the care and education of their own children. The Agency is committed to engaging with children, parents and communities about the design, delivery and quality of its services. ‘Shaping our Parenting Support through Participation’ is the theme of the Agency's first parenting conference in a series of three conferences to take place from December 2015 through to 2017.

The Child and Family Agency has further informed me that a comprehensive revision of structures and systems is currently under way to implement a new approach to Prevention Partnership and Family Support within the Agency. This includes the appointment of senior managers for Prevention Partnership and Family Support as part of the Management Team of each Agency operational area; Child and Family Support Network Co-ordinators; and a Prevention Partnership and Family Support Steering Committee, to be a sub-group of CYPSC, where such a committee is in place.

‘Parenting24seven’ is a web based resource which is available on the Agency's website () and which has been developed with the support of partner organisations, most notably Childhood Development Initiative, Tallaght. Included in Parenting24seven is a video on Positive Parenting which gives parents tips on managing behaviour positively.

An extensive evaluation of the Prevention Partnership and Family Support programme of work is being undertaken by the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway. This includes collecting baseline data on parenting supports and participatory practices.