You are here: Publications Research Parent Information Programmes

Parent Information Programmes

Introduction

The Ministry of Justice is developing a nationwide programme to help parents prevent stress and trauma for children facing parental conflict. The purpose of the programme is:

To help Parents understand the experience of separation and its effect on their children

To help Parents recognise that conflict has adverse impact on children, including legal proceedings

To give Parents the resources and knowledge to enable them to communicate more effectively with their children and their ex partners

To minimise the negative effect of parental separation on children and to help them maintain a positive relationship with both parents and their families after a separation has occurred.

See Minister’s Press Release for further details.

North Shore Pilot

The Auckland Family Courts Association and University of Auckland have trialled a Parent Education Programme (called ‘Children in the Middle’) at the North Shore Family Court. The programme consisted of 2, 2 hour evening sessions for parents one week apart. Parents attend separate sessions and children do not attend.

The evaluation of the project was very positive. The evaluators found an increase in parent knowledge about the impact of separation on children, an improvement in children’s behaviour and wellbeing, and a reduction in parental conflict. See Full Evaluation Report for further details.

Project Implementation

Parent Information Programmes will be implemented nationwide in managed stages.

Facilitation of the Courses will be run by Agencies or Organisations with appropriate expertise.

Attendance at the programmes will be free for participants. Agencies providing the programmes will be paid a fee per participant. In most areas there will be two intakes per month for 11 months of the year. There will be a maximum 16 participants in each course.

It is anticipated that the first programmes will be publicly available at the end of 2005/beginning 2006.

For further information please contact family@justice.govt.nz