Jaquie Mayne and Debbie Henderson, Community Development Officer and Executive Officer of The Family Inclusion Network of Western Australia, reflect on the broad range of emotional supports FIN WA offers to its family partners to address the impact of past trauma and current work challenges.
The International Parent Advocacy Network (IPAN) partnered with Rise to develop the Toolkit for Transformation. Here, we highlight information and resources from the Support Groups for Impacted Parents section of the toolkit.
Two new bills related to child welfare have been proposed in the NY State Senate, sponsored by Senator Velmanette Montgomery (now retired). The passage of these bills would help to reduce some of the harm of the child welfare system in New York.
The 2021 Rise & Shine Parent Leadership Program launched online in early February, beginning with a focus on community building using restorative justice circles. In our first weeks, we built our connection and relationships, centered our values, developed a community agreement, shared self-care strategies and established our “buddy system” of peer support.
The Washington State Parent Ally Committee (WPAC) brings parent advocates from across Washington together to share the pressing issues they see on the ground and then to work toward passage of legislative change.
As the parent lead of WPAC for many years, Alise Morrisey understood that collaboration was key to the passage of many important pieces of legislation, including a bill about background checks that made it easier to place children with relatives; a bill that funded parent advocacy statewide; and a bill that gave incarcerated parents more time to reunify with their children.
Morrisey still believes in the power of legislative advocacy, but today, she says, she would like to see parent advocates push for more fundamental change to support families outside the child welfare system.