Collaborative research on Parenting Support and Parental Participation in child protection and welfare services

Parents are increasingly recognised as partners or participants in the child protection and welfare system with their own needs and an important role to play in achieving outcomes for children (Fernandez and Thorpe, 2020). This chapter considers the process of researching and evaluating the implementation of Tusla’s Parenting Support Strategy, the aim of which is to drive a long-term, sustainable strategic approach to its work in parenting, and the associated Parenting Support (PS) and Parental Participation (PP) programmes of work. Based on the findings of research on the PS and PP work package as part of the wider parenting, partnership and family support study, the focus of this chapter is on system change from initial plans to the reality of implementation in the context of the strong, ongoing university–agency partnership, which underpinned the work. As implementation activities and effects are not static or linear processes, the research design was multifaceted and adapted to change over time. The chapter concludes with reflections on the key learning for research on implementing a mixed-method study at a time of rapid change in a new organisation.