Job purpose

To empower and enable parents to actively participate in the child protection and court systems in an informed and supported manner. 

A new national service to support the advocacy and information needs of parents of children in care of the state is being developed. This new and innovative service will be piloted for 5 years with robust evaluation built into the pilot process.

The service has three parts:

1. An Advocacy Service for Parents of Children in Care

The aim of the advocacy service for parents of children in care will be to empower and enable parents to actively participate in the child protection and court systems in an informed and supported manner. The advocacy service will operate from a neutral, professional, independent position which is non-judgmental and one which parents experience as trustworthy. This service is parent focused, to support and empower parents, but it is important that decisions and discussions are informed by the child's best interest. The role of the advocate will be to act as a bridge, an interpreter of information and an enabler between parents and the legal and child protection systems.  

2. Information Provision and Communications Service

The aim of the information and communication component of this service is to produce accessible user-friendly information in a variety of formats to ensure the information is available to a broad range of parents. The key to the success of this aspect of the service is to ensure parents know and understand what's happening, to enable them to navigate the systems effectively.

3. Monitoring and Evaluation

A systematic approach to monitoring and evaluation will be completed in order to observe trends, track progress and consider achievement of sustainable outcomes. The purpose of monitoring these trends and data so carefully is to easily track the success of the service, whether the service is of high quality, if parents' needs are being met in a timely manner and if there are adjustments that need to be made quickly to make the service more effective.

A new team is being established to provide this service:

Which includes 4 full-time Parent Advocates of Support Service for Parents of Children in Care – 2 based in Dublin, one in Wexford and one in Waterford

This is a terrific opportunity to be involved in the setup and delivery of a new and innovative national initiative.