Engaging parents involved in Community Corrections: The role of parenting interventions in improving child and parent outcomes

Abstract

The children of offenders can often be exposed to adverse childhood experiences and risk factors within their environment, placing children at risk for childhood maladjustment and future offending. A variety of parenting problems have also been reported for parents who are involved in the Criminal Justice System (CJS), such as poor supervision of children and high rates of involvement with Child Protective Services. Due to such concerns, parenting interventions have been evaluated within custodial facilities with a number of associated implementation challenges subsequently identified, particularly as a result of insufficient parent-child contact. Research has largely failed to examine the parenting support needs of CJS-involved parents who have contact with their children, namely, parents who are under the supervision of the CJS within the community (e.g., parents who are serving community-based corrections orders and/or parents who have exited custodial facilities). There are significant gaps in the knowledge base pertaining to the availability and access to parenting services for CJS-involved parents in the community, to what extent parents engage with community agencies around their parenting needs, key barriers that may interfere with parent engagement, and how to maximise parent engagement. nnThis dissertation contributes to the limited knowledge of evidence-based parenting support for CJS-involved parents in the community. This objective is achieved through three studies, with each study informed by the results of the preceding study (or studies): 1) a community agency survey to examine the types of parenting services that are available to CJS-involved parents in the community along with parent uptake; 2) focus groups with professional staff and parents to investigate parenting challenges and key barriers to parent engagement in community-based parenting services; and 3) a study that reports the feasibility of engaging CJS-involved parents in an evidence-based parenting intervention offered at community corrections. nnStudy 1 was a survey of community agencies that deliver parenting services in Queensland, Australia (N = 82). The results provided information on the types of parenting services that are available to CJS-involved parents in the community. Findings suggest that one third of the available parenting services can be classified as evidence-based. The available parenting services are underutilised by CJS-involved parents, and the results suggest that there are barriers to services use, such as costs for some evidence-based parenting services and differences in service delivery for CJS-involved parents. nnStudy 2 examined the key barriers that prevent CJS-involved parents from accessing parenting services in the community, parenting challenges, and options for accessing parenting services. This was achieved through 14 focus groups (N = 70) with professional staff from Corrective Services and community agencies, and parents serving community-based corrections orders. The results provided further evidence of the barriers that prevent CJS-involved parents from engaging with community agencies around their parenting needs and pointed to possible strategies to address the barriers and improve parent engagement in evidence-based parenting interventions in the community. nnThe data derived from the first two studies informed the delivery of the final study presented in this dissertation: a study that tested the feasibility of engaging CJS-involved parents in an evidence-based parenting intervention offered at Probation and Parole offices, and outcomes from participation for parents and their children. This mixed methods evaluation reports outcome and qualitative data (N = 18 parents). Data from the parents who completed the intervention (completers) are presented as in-depth case studies and compared to parents who did not complete the intervention. Completers who practised and implemented strategies both within and outside of intervention sessions to a greater extent, achieved the greatest improvements in outcomes, demonstrating the importance of active parent participation within parenting interventions. There were several challenges that lowered implementation feasibility, and the findings add to an understanding of important factors that facilitate and impede intervention engagement and retention within the community corrections context. nnCollectively, the learnings from this research series contribute to an understanding of how barriers to parent engagement in evidence-based parenting interventions can be addressed. The findings have implications for engaging CJS-involved parents, and more broadly, for engaging other high-risk parents in evidence-based parenting interventions, which has the potential to result in changes that meaningfully benefit families.n