Professor John Canavan UNESCO Child and Family Research

Professor John Canavan UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre National University of Ireland Galway Ireland Building a Common Approach to Family Support across Europe: The Euro. Fam-Net COST Action

Context and Origins § Five nations Family Support Conferences § Galway School – Realising children’s rights through empowering parents and families § Eurochild, UNESCO Chairs, Unicef Innocenti, Council of Europe § Europe-wide interest / agenda (FS as prevention, FS in context of deinstitutionalisation…policy, practice, research, theory) § Self-funded meetings of interested colleagues: § Paris; Edinburgh; Belgrade; Seville § Initial Thinking and Planning (e. g. Foundation Document) § Funding: COST application – led by Dr. Lucia Jimenez, University of Seville (second attempt) 2

Adapted from the foundational document of the European Family Support Network (Frost et al. , 2018)

One Definition! Family support is both a style of work and a set of activities, which reinforce positive informal social networks through integrated programmes, combining statutory, voluntary, community and private services, primarily focused on early intervention across a range of levels and needs with the aim of promoting and protecting the health, wellbeing and rights of all children, young people and their families in their own homes and communities, with particular attention to those who are vulnerable or at risk (Canavan, Pinkerton, Dolan, 2016: 20) 4

DIMENSIONS AND ISSUES Children’s Rights Policy, Services and Practices Universal and Targeted. . and Social Security. . Multi-Sectoral Multi-disciplinary Multi-Modal Theories Social Ecology Social Support / Networks Resilience/ Strengths Reflective Practice Attachment …. . . and Parenting. . and Prevention and Early Intervention. . 5

COST Action is a science and technology network funded over a four-year duration. It is organized through a range of networking tools that support and ultimately achieve the action’s research coordination and capacity building objectives. 6

COST Actions v. Strengthen scientific research in Europe by financing the establishment of collaborative interactive networks among researchers v. Promote international coordination of otherwise-funded research v. Build, bridge and expand multi and interdisciplinary science and technology research communities on emerging topics v. Networking opportunities for early career investigators v. Increase on the impact of research on policy makers, regulatory bodies, national decision makers and private sector v. NB: Eurofam-net emphasis on Stakeholders 7

Membership – 35 Countries 19 ITC Countries Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Republic of North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom. + NNC Kosovo 8

What will we deliver? • Comprehensive conceptual framework to underpin family support research, policy and practice • Evidence-based framework and associated quality standards, inclusive of new technologydriven approaches • key outputs: a catalogue of evidence-based programmes, evaluation tools and a best practice skills guide • Contribute to best practice in the education and training of family support practitioners and researchers, building on the evidence base it creates • Use a multidisciplinary approach including all the relevant scientific and professional disciplines working in this field: • commitment to the diversity of methodological approaches required to create this family support knowledge and evidence 9

What will we deliver? • Disseminate research and knowledge – to influence professional bodies and policy makers towards further development and innovation in family support services • Promote inter-sectoral coordination, increasing the efficiency of available resources for children and families • Create the conditions for and maintain a commitment to genuine and deep collaboration between all family support stakeholders (children, parents, practitioners, policy makers and researchers) 10

Task Organisation WG 2 Conceptual Perspectives on Family Support WG 1 Membership Coordination Overall Action WG 3 Programmes and Evaluation Quality Standards WG 5 Dissemination Influence WG 4 Workforce Skills Standardisation Framework 11