The CAPC/CPNP Think Tank 2000: Maximizing Parental Involvement

Fact Sheet 1 in a series of 5
August 2002

Value Life Experience

"The one who lives the situation is the expert" AThink Tank participant

Recipe for Success

Three key learnings that contribute to successfully involving parents as partners in CAPC/CPNP programs include:

Parent-centered philosophy and belief

"This is a program by families, for families and with families." A Think Tank participant

Resources

Organizations working in partnership with parents must have resources and supports that adequately allow for time, human resources and other supports.

Flexibility

In order to respond to the particular circumstances and changing needs of children and families, CAPC/CPNP programs must be flexible.

Where Do We Start?

Respect Parental Expertise

Establish a belief system or philosophy for working and a culture that values parents as partners and resources. Everyone should have the opportunity to participate at every level. The attitude is one of collective ownership. This is about creating an environment where people can empower themselves. This can be done by:

• Hiring people from the community and having the parents themselves do the hiring.
• Ensuring that fifty percent of the members of the Board are parents from the community.
• Encouraging everyone to have their say at Board meetings.
• Practising an open door policy with face-to-face outreach and word-of-mouth recruitment.

Secure Appropriate Funding Levels

The reality of CAPC/CPNP or community-based programming is that several hundred hours of staff work are actually contributed on a voluntary basis. To attract and keep qualified people, projects need appropriate funding levels to provide adequate salaries. Financial resources are also required to support a number of important activities and services, including:

• Childcare and transportation costs to allow parents to come to the programs.
• Make provisions for reimbursing out-of-pocket expenses of volunteers.
• Social events to attract and retain parents.
• Progressive skills training opportunities and skills development.

Building In Flexibility

Be willing to try different strategies to meet particular circumstances. The flexibility principle also applies to the way programs are run. For example, encourage families to participate at functions by providing:

• Meals
• On-site childcare
• Transportation

Challenges

"There is a lot of resistance by professionals to change their ways; which is interesting when you think that part of their job involves trying to get others to change their ways." A Think Tank participant

There are three main challenges to achieving the objective of including parents-as-partners:

‘Professionals'
"Although 'professional' was neverclearly defined, it can include thefollowing groups: bureaucrats,researchers, social workers, programpractitioners, nurses, dieticians, recentgraduates, staff from other agencies,other child care experts, etc." - As defined by the Think Tank group

Close Mind Set — Practitioners get caught up in the process and the agenda.

Resources — Families in crisis do not have extra energy or resources to get involved as partners.

Evaluation and Tracking — There can be a perceived level of intrusiveness in the role of evaluation.

Keeping on Track

• Offer sensitization training such as the "Reality Game" where staff try to manage scenarios with the same level of resources that a participant would have.
• Hold annual volunteer appreciation events and reimburse out-of-pocket expenses.
• Project staff can build rapport with parents by doing unconventional things, such as folding the laundry during site visits.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Results From the Literature Review

The three main criteria identified for success by Think Tank participants were analyzed in light of recent literature. It is clear that their perspectives are reinforced by the work of social scientists who have studied the community involvement question.

It was the main recommendation of the literature review that all success conditions of the CAPC/CPNP programs be listed and articulated. This would create a reference framework defined to maximize the efficiency potential of the initiatives. It is necessary to expand the knowledge and practice relative to:

• practice methods that are most likely to contribute to program effectiveness;
• taking into account all costs inherent to program implementation within the community;
• outlining types of outcomes that can be expected once an initiative is implemented;
• evaluation procedures that take into account various contexts, use tools adapted to specific characteristics of the community, and prioritize effectiveness over increase of knowledge.

Key Messages From the Think Tank

• Value parents both as experts and as human beings with unique qualities and talents, and something of value to contribute.
• Skills development and training increases self-esteem and equips participants to take on meaningful work opportunities as full partners in the organization.
• Staff role is to develop the opportunities, do the paperwork, help build the confidence level of parent-partners and act as coaches and mentors.

The Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) and the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) support a range of community action programs and services for pregnant women, parents and children living in conditions of risk across Canada. CAPC and CPNP sponsored their first "Think Tank" in Ottawa. To ensure that the outcomes were meaningful to CAPC/CPNP projects, an Advisory committee with representation from projects, as well as regional and national Health Canada staff, designed and shaped the event.

At the Think Tank, representatives from 38 CAPC and CPNP projects came together with community- based participatory researchers to integrate their experience and expertise into four issue papers:

• Maximizing Parental Involvement
• Reaching and Maintaining the Focus Population
• Factors that Contribute to Increased Breastfeeding in the CAPC/CPNP Population.
• Partnership and Intervention in Dealing With Child Abuse Prevention

A fifth paper entitled, Colouring Outside the Lines: An Overview of the CAPC/CPNP Think Tank Process, provides an overview of the experimental model used during the Think Tank.

The key highlights of these five issue papers have also been captured in five fact sheets with the same titles. This fact sheet is the first in the series.

Production of this document by the Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto, has been made possible by a financial contribution from the CAPC/CPNP National Projects Fund, Health Canada.

Permission is granted to photocopy this material provided that the source is acknowledged. Full versions of the issue papers and the fact sheets are available on the Public Health Agency of Canada website at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ hppb/childhood-youth/cbp/ npfproject/. Hard copies of the documents can also be obtained by contacting Health Canada at (613)957-3956.