Family Support as Reflective Practice

Neil has over 45 years of experience in the caring professions as a practitioner, manager, educator, writer and adviser. He has won awards for his work, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from BASW Cymru. He is renowned for his ability to express complex ideas clearly without oversimplifying them and for making theory relevant to practice. John Canavan is Associate Director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, a research and policy centre for which Family Support is a major area of interest. He has over 20 years' experience in undertaking project evaluations and providing policy advice to statutory and voluntary agencies, and to government. Over the last seven years he has led a series of major evaluations on a programme of investment in children's services in Ireland. He teaches on the post qualifying Diploma/MA in Family Support Studies at the National University of Ireland, Galway and co-directs the Structured Ph.D. in Child and Youth Research at the university. His academic writing covers Family Support and related topics, and Evidence Informed Practice. John Pinkerton is an established academic known for his research and writing in the area of family support. His work is heavily influenced by an international perspective. For the last 15 years he has been an international advisor to the Children's Institute, University of Cape Town. In preparation for legislative change in the 1990s he led a research team from Queen's University Belfast in producing a base line study of family support in Northern Ireland. He has advised government on family support in both the North and South of Ireland. His teaching covers both qualifying and post qualifying training in social work. He is Co-Editor of the British Journal of Social Work, leading on its family and child care content. Pat Dolan holds a UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He leads the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre and directs the MA in Family Support Studies, which for over 15 years has had the development of family support as a major goal. At different times in his career he has been a successful practitioner and senior manager in the area of family support. Apart from his extensive research experience in the field, he has provided policy advice on family support to national statutory and voluntary agencies and to international organisations. Pat is widely published on Family Support.

• Foreword. 1. Family Support: From Description to Reflection by Pat Dolan, John Pinkerton, Queen's University Belfast, and John Canavan, Child & Family Research and Policy Unit, Galway. Section A: Engaging with Policy and Organisation. 2. School as a Base for Family Support Services by Ilan Katz, Children and Young People's Unit, London. 3. Family Support as Community-Based Practice: Considering a Community Capacity Framework for Family Support Provision by Robert J. Chaskin, Chapin Hall Centre for Children, University of Chicago. 4. Supporting Families through Local Government: A Danish Case Study by Peter Steen Jensen and René Junker, Municipality of Odense, Denmar. 5. Implementing Family Support Policy: Empowering Practitioners by Alex Wright, Glasgow University. 6. A Comparative Perspective: Exploring the Space for Family Support by Michelle Millar NUI, Galway. Section B: Using concepts, frameworks and tools. 7. Safeguarding Children Through Supporting Families by Ruth Gardner, Royal Holloway College, London. 8. Youth Advocacy: Programming Justice-Focused Intervention: Family Support Intervention by Jeff Fleischer, Youth Advocacy Programme, and Judy Warner. 9. Supporting families with disabled children: A Case Study by Rosemary Kilpatrick. 10. Enhancing Support for Young People in Need: Reflections on Informal and Formal Sources of Help by Pat Dolan and Brian McGrath. 11. Cultural Competence, Cultural Sensitivity and Family Support by Fatima Husain. 12. Reframing Practice as Family Support - Leaving Care by John Pinkerton. 13. Assessment, Intervention and Self Appraisal Tools for Family Support by Pat Dolan. 14. Culturally Appropriate Family Support Practice: Working with Asian Populations by Monit Cheung and Patrick Leung. Section C: Advancing Evaluation 15. Developing an outcome Evaluation Framework for use by Family Support Programs by Charles Bruner. 16. School- and Family-level Income Effects in a Randomized Controlled Prevention Trial: A Multilevel Analysis by W. Todd Abraham and Daniel W. Russell, Institute for Social Behavioral Research, Iowa State University, Max Guyll, Linda Trudeau, Catherine Goldberg-Lillehoj and Richard Spoth, Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute, Iowa State University. 17. Towards an Inclusive Approach to Family Support Evaluation by Jackie Sanders and Robyn Munford. 18. Reflecting for Action: The Future of Family Support by John Canavan.

This collection is a highly engaging and creative ensemble of insights and approaches to the broad practice of family support. The result is the creation of a rich bed of information that practitioners can link to their own practice... The book is a worthwhile project and an accessible read. From a practice perspective, Family Support is a valuable resource. Pinkerton, in the chapter entitled `Reframing Practice as Family Support' identifies the "key problem at present in the Irish system is the lack of integration of family support into the 'high priority' child protection system". This book will help the reframing of this by creating a positive and constructive discourse on family support work.