Welcome to the Child & Family Strand
Choose a programme below to expand that section and find out some more info about it
Who are we?
The Child and Family team provide high quality, evidence informed programmes to children, young people and their families. The 5 programme areas of this strand are:
1) Intensive Family Support Programme – Intensive Family Support Programme with a specific focus on Hidden Harm. The aim is to integrate community, voluntary & statutory services to enable each child and young person to receive the best outcomes from everybody’s input and support. The Child and Family Worker takes on the coordination role ensuring the focus is on supporting each child’s physical, emotional and educational needs. The Child and Family Worker works with the parents to reduce the number of Adverse Childhood Experiences a child experiences and acts as a ‘good adult’ in the child’s life, buffering the effect of ACES by building resilience.
2) Teen Parent Support Programme – Familibase is one of the 11 national Teen Parent Support Programme projects. The TPSP is a targeted community-based service for young parents under 25, working with mothers antenatal and postnatal, fathers and grandparents.
3) Child & Family Groupwork Programme – A range of developmental groups including evidence-based parenting programmes, parent and baby/toddler groups, baby massage, early literacy groups for babies and toddlers, wellness groups for parents and evidence based therapeutic groups to support young people cope with parental substance misuse.
4) Systemic Trauma Therapy Programme – Individual and family therapy for children and families who have experienced trauma when they are ready to engage in this process. This resource is very limited.
What do we do?
The following is a list of programmes that we offer, for further information please contact katie.okeeffe@familibase.ie.
Click one of the services below to expand and find out more
Intensive Family Support Programme
Intensive Family Support Programme
The Intensive Family Support Programme has a specific focus on children experiencing Hidden Harm. Criteria for referral to this programme is children impacted by parental addiction or parental mental health.The aim is to integrate community; voluntary and statutory services to enable each child and young person receive the best outcomes from everybody’s input and support. The Child and Family Worker takes on the coordination role through a case management system ensuring the focus is on supporting each child’s physical, emotional and educational needs. The Child and Family Worker works with the parents to reduce the number of Adverse Childhood Experiences a child experiences and acts as a ‘good adult’ in the child’s life, buffering the effect of ACES by building resilience.
Following an assessment with each family referred a care plan is developed. Interventions include:
- Morning Programme – to support school attendance and positive educational engagement.
- Home Visiting Programme – to support parenting and home management.
- Key working Programme – one to one support directly with children and young people.
- Support to organise and attend vital appointments i.e. health, housing, education etc.
- Referrals to other services to support the parent’s development i.e. Addiction support, HSE mental health etc.
- Support children and parents to access and attend developmental groups both internal and external of Familibase.
- Child Welfare Monitoring and awareness raising
- Crisis Intervention
The Teen Parent Support Programme (TPSP)
The TPSP is a targeted community-based service for young parents under 25, working with mothers antenatal and postnatal, fathers and grandparents. The objectives of the TPSP are:
- The TPSP intervenes at a critical early point of pregnancy/parenthood in order to build the capacity of young parents of babies and young children.
- The Child and Family Worker offers support to young parents in early pregnancy to access antenatal support. They encourage the parent/child bonding and attachment process and support the learning of early coping mechanisms following the birth of the baby.
- The Child and Family Worker recognises and supports the parents as young people developing through adolescence and into early adulthood. They actively encourage, and support the involvement of fathers in the lives of their children.
- Signposting and support with necessary supports i.e. social welfare entitlements, housing etc.
- Active support and encouragement for young parents to access opportunities with regard to education, training or employment, and assist with the application process if needed. Provide access to educational resources to encourage positive engagement through SCP funding.
- Support young parents and their babies/toddlers to engage in developmental groups with other TPSP participants, facilitated by the Child and Family Worker.
Child & Family Groupwork Programme
Child & Family Groupwork Programme
A range of developmental groups including evidence-based parenting programmes, parent and baby/toddler groups, baby massage, early literacy groups for babies and toddlers, wellness groups for parents and evidence based therapeutic groups to support young people cope with parental substance misuse.
Systemic Trauma Therapy Programme
Systemic Trauma Therapy:
Systemic trauma therapy addresses the needs of children, young people families; systemically i.e. it views a family as a system with each family member being interconnected to each other, their wider family and their community. Its approach is different to individual therapy, where the focus is on the individuals’ needs. Individual, age appropriate therapy can also occur where necessary, alongside the family therapy process. Trauma therapy is rooted in understanding the connection between the trauma experience and the child/families emotional and behavioral responses. The purpose of trauma-focused therapy is to offer skills and strategies to assist in better understanding, coping with, processing emotions and memories tied to traumatic experiences. Doing this systemically, draws on the capacity of each family member to impact and have influence in bringing about change within the family.
Alignment to national policy and procedures
BOBF 2014-2020-National Policy Framework for Children and Young People
Attachment Focused and Trauma Informed Practice
Signs of Safety -Tusla National Approach to Practice
Meitheal-Tusla National Practice Model
Hidden Harm Strategy/National Drugs Strategy
Children’s First Act 2015
Important Theories for the work
Systems/Ecological Theories-Brofenbrenner
Attachment Theories
Resilience Theories
Relational Theories
Family Support Theories and practice
