Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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770. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the national parenting support plan that was promised in the programme for partnership Government document; and the date by which she expects this plan to be published. [3759/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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A number of wide-ranging measures relating to parenting support have recently been introduced. My Department published a High Level Policy Statement on Parenting and Family Supportin 2015.The Statement sets out 29 policy messages around improved interagency working, workforce development, information and evidence to inform the targeting of resources, integration of service planning and delivery, and partnership with children and their parents. It also underscores the importance of developing cross-agency coordination of services to children and their families.

The Child and Family Agency’s Parenting Support Strategyaims to ensure that there are appropriate supports and services available to parents within their community; that these services are accessible and friendly and that supports are available to parents at all stages of their children‘s development.

Together, these provide the context for the extensive work of the Child and Family Agency in the area of family support including the work of its Prevention, Parenting and Family Support(PPFS) teams which are currently being rolled out at local level to support a standardised approach to the provision of family support. In addition, the plannedEarly Years Strategycurrently in development by this Department will provide an opportunity to consolidate commitments and initiatives relevant to parenting support for parents of the 0-6 age group.

I understand that the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre is currently researching and evaluating Tusla's Development and Mainstreaming Programme for Prevention, Partnership and Family Support. I look forward to the outcome of this work which will inform future developments in this area, including the development of a National Parenting Support Plan.