Positive parenting, family resilience, and child participation in family reunification: good professional practices

Abstract

Good professional practices in family reunification processes require a favorable attitude towards an approach to socio-educational action based on positive parenting, family resilience, and child participation. This quantitative study provides knowledge regarding these three perspectives based on the experience of 20 child protection system professionals (in Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Navarra) who have participated in training on and the implementation of the programme entitled 'Caminar en familia' (Walk as a family). Data were collected by administering a Likert type questionnaire on two occasions, before starting the training on the programme and after implementing it with the group of families. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS v.25 software package. The results indicated a positive trend when incorporating positive parenting, family resilience, and child participation into professional practices in the child protection system, raising awareness of the children's ability to identify their own needs and the parenting skills that their parents need to improve. In conclusion, the evidence invites us to shift the focus of professional support within the child protection system.