Parental Mental Health and Child Welfare Network - About the Network

On this page:

• What is the Parental Mental Health and Child Welfare Network?
• Why do we need the Network?
• What do we do?
• Join the Network

What is the Parental Mental Health and Child Welfare Network?

The Parental Mental Health and Child Welfare Network is a unique national (England-wide) network for social care and health workers who work with parents with a mental health problem, their children, and families; for parents who may use their services, and for those who support the aims of the Network.

The Network is currently supported by a grant from the Department for Education to promote joint working between adult mental health and children's services, to promote knowledge about good practice in the sector, and to develop practice to strengthen family relationships and support systems to mitigate the impact of parental mental health problems on children’s distress.
Using knowledge gathered from diverse sources and a broad range of people and organisations, this takes place via this website, two study days a year, a bi-monthly newsletter, and the development of training activities to support whole family working and improve practice standards in safeguarding children. The network is coordinated by the Social Perspectives Network (SPN) on behalf of SCIE with which close links are maintained. We are keen to support regional networks around the country and welcome news from your area or requests for specific support or events to stimulate interest.

This site includes information about the Network, links to key resources and developments in adult mental health and children's services including issues around safeguarding children, and information about Network and related events. You can contribute to the site by submitting information on useful publications, links, and key messages from your own research or research of which you are aware. We are keen to support local activities so if you have a need for e.g. a speaker for an event, please contact the team and we will put out a call to other Network members who may be able to help.

Why do we need the Network?

Research and enquiry reports have established the links between parental mental illness and child welfare and the need for mental health and children and family services to work together to meet the needs of families.

The publication of SCIE’s guidelines on parental mental health and child welfare – ‘Think Child Think Parent Think Family’ – in July 2009 were a key development bringing together the knowledge base and advice about how to work with families where there might be parental mental health difficulties. These were the start of a four- year programme of implementation and review by SCIE which takes into account the continuing gaps in evidence about effective family interventions.

At a local level the recruitment of specialist interface workers and teams, inter-sector partnerships and training programmes and the development of interagency protocols have been established to promote a family approach to parental mental ill health. These developments, however, continue to be patchy and dogged by funding problems, and the Network will continue to do what it can to promote the further embedding of family approaches including by playing a key role in the dissemination of the guidelines via training initiatives.

What do we do?

Aims and objectives (in order of priority)

1. To increase viability of Network as a self-sustaining enterprise

• by generating at least £30,000 a year

2. To improve accessibility to the resources of the network
   

   • by developing and facilitating an online discussion group on family  mental health

   • By developing the potential of the network website into the internet resource for up-to-date references, local schemes, news items and political happenings for practitioners, students and parents

3. To improve good practice across all disciplines

• By working in partnership with other key national organisations and networks on key messages (news, research and other developments) emerging from network activities
  

4. To increase the confidence and competence of practitioners working with  families with mental health needs

   • by becoming a resource for specialist research on family mental health issues
     

5. To increase recognition of the network as  the resource for  best practice in working with families affected by mental ill-health,

   • by raising our profile and actively engaging with members

   • by running targeted national and local training events informed by members’ priorities.

For a diagram showing our aims and objectives please click here (14kb PDF file)

Current activities

The Network organises two study days a year for around 100 people to debate topics identified by Network members. The findings from these days are circulated to Network members, used in consultation or practice development processes and fed back to policy makers.

The Network produces a bi-monthly e-newsletter with articles about good practice and recent research and upkeeps this website which lists resources and links to other organisations, projects and examples of best practice.

Join the Network

The Network is an opportunity to hear about practice developments, new research, publications and projects. It is an opportunity to share with others the work you are involved in as well as an opportunity to involve others in work you are hoping to take forward.

The Network is a forum to debate local and national policy, training, management and practice dilemmas. It also enables you to contribute to the development of national guidance.

• Click here to join the network.