Download the slides here.
It’s important to provide children’s parents and family members with opportunities to have their say about family time. This can help ensure family time is a positive experience for all involved.
Caseworkers can check in with parents and family members prior to Family Time by asking open-ended questions such as: How are you going? What’s been happening? Has anything come up that might affect your next Family Time visit? Caseworkers can also check in afterwards by asking: What happened that made you feel good/not so good? What could I have done to help? What could you try next time?
Hear caseworkers who participated in our study reflect on the importance of hearing child and family voices about family time in the video below.
Resources
A series of resources were developed by parents, for parents to assist in bringing an awareness to their own feelings around family time and that of their children and other adults in their children’s lives. The resources offer practical strategies for how parents can help to improve family time for all involved, practice self-care and work toward healing.
- Resource for parents 1 – Light in the dark (pdf, 125KB)
- Resource for parents 2 – Nourishing and strengthening sparks of connection (pdf, 323KB)
- Resource for parents 3 – Shining your own light on family time (pdf, 149KB)
Recommended reading
Collings, S., Wright, A. C., & Spencer, M. (2021). Telling visual stories of loss and hope: Body mapping with mothers about contact after child removal. Qualitative Research. Accessible at: https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/25015