One Family

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One Family Presentation to Family Resource Centre
National Forum Edel Quinn Training
Consultancy Manager Candy Murphy Policy
Campaigns Manager
June 21st 2006
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What were going to talk about.

• Background to our organisation
• Work of One Family Family services
  Professional support
• Policy Positions
• Open Discussion

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The One Family Mission

• Progressing the work of Cherish, established in
  1972, One Family
• provides voice, support and action for one-parent
  families through
• membership, professional services and
  campaigning. Our aim is to
• affect positive change and achieve equality and
  social inclusion for all
• one-parent families in Ireland.
• We work to achieve our aims through
• Voice we are the national membership organisation
  of one-parent families, supporting organisations
  and others concerned with the issues facing
  one-parent families.
• Support we offer a comprehensive range of
  professional services to one-parent families, to
  those experiencing a crisis pregnancy and to
  those working with one-parent families.
• Action we campaign with and on behalf of our
  members to affect positive change for one-parent
  families.
• One Family works with all types and all members
  of one-parent
• families, respecting the realities of family life
  in Ireland.

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Cherish the early years

• Established in 1972 as Cherish
• Focussed on single-parent (unmarried) families
• Practical supports, campaigning for single
  parents and for women with crisis pregnancies
• Founder - Maura Richards (née ODea)
• Historical interest in legal issues
• Abolition of Illegitimacy Campaign
• 1977-1988
• 1992 Abortion Referenda Frontline

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One Family present day

• Cherish rebranded in 2004 as One Family
• Voice
• CAN membership
• One Family Matters www.onefamily.ie
• Support
• Range of professional services in Dublin
• Action
• Campaigning, policy and lobbying work
• Conferences and Family Diversity Initiative

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Quick StatisticsWho are One Parent Families?

• Census 2002 1 in 8 people
• 40 widowed 32 single/never married
• 85 Female 15 Male
• 60 have one child
• DSFA 2004 - Approx. 2 are teens.
• 3 times more likely to live in poverty as a
  member of a one-parent family (EU-SILC 2005)

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Our Family Support Services
INFORMATION SUPPORT
ONE FAMILY
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Information Support Service

• Accurate, factual information
• Non judgemental support service / listening ear
• Offers individual appointments
• Ask onefamily helpline LoCall 1890- 662212
• Range of support leaflets

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Our Family Support Services
INFORMATION SUPPORT
ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
ONE FAMILY
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Programmes Service

• Adult education programmes run in Cherish House
• Diverse range of clients Recruitment/Referral/Wo
  rd of Mouth
• Yearly Calendar of Programmes on semester basis
  2 hour sessions with childcare provided
• Types of Programmes
• Personal Support Groups/Social groups
• Professional- Moving On Computing FETAC Level 1
  2
• Parenting- Positive Parenting
• Family Family Communications

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Programmes- Celebrations!
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Our Family Support Services
INFORMATION SUPPORT
ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
ONE FAMILY
COUNSELLING
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Counselling Service

• Professional counselling service non-directive
  crisis pregnancy counselling general counselling
  for adults and adolescents post-termination
  telephone support service
• Offers training to other professionals in the
  area of crisis pregnancy post abortion
  counselling

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Our Family Support Services
INFORMATION SUPPORT
ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
ONE FAMILY
COUNSELLING
CHILDCARE
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Childcare Service

• Sessional childcare to support services
• Active learning environment for children
• Parenting support and play group
• Parenting coaching
• Specialist workshops
• Materials for childcare providers

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Our Family Support Services
INFORMATION SUPPORT
ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
ONE FAMILY
COUNSELLING
TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONALS
CHILDCARE
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Training Services

• Training services to professionals who work with
  members of one parent families
• Objective is to
• Build capacity in organisations to replicate the
  adult Education programmes we run with clients.
• Promote awareness of the issues which members of
  one parent face in their everyday lives
• Provide support to organisations in developing
  their service through providing training and
  consultancy.
• Methods Groupwork and experiential learning
  which has been extensively piloted and evaluated.
• Comprehensive calendar of professional training
  available in Dublin and nationwide

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Our Family Support Services
INFORMATION SUPPORT
ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
FUNDRAISING COMMUNICATIONS
ONE FAMILY
COUNSELLING
TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONALS
CHILDCARE
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Fundraising Communications

• Annual newsletters to inform members of services
  ,activities policy positions.
• Fundraising network to raise profile of the
  organisation
• Grants/Schemes

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Our Family Support Services
INFORMATION SUPPORT
POLICY CAMPAIGNING
ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
FUNDRAISING COMMUNICATIONS
ONE FAMILY
COUNSELLING
TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONALS
CHILDCARE
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Family Resource centres

• Use One Family Information Support Service
• Dublin area- refer clients to programmes or
  counselling
• Participate in Training or consultancy services
• Policy Campaigning can get involved with
  policy campaigning network
• Communications Register for our newsletters
  keep informed.

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One Family-Policy Issues
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Our Policy Principles

• Children at the centre
• All members of all types of one-parent families
• Non-judgemental
• Rights-based
• Practice to policy / policy to practice
• Empowerment and respect

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Policy Campaigns Service

• CAN - campaigning and advocacy network.
  Membership and consultation vehicle
• Consultation on Lone Parent Review
• Human Rights Booklet
• Submissions, lobbying, campaigns, work to
  influence policy
• Lone Parent Review
• Social Partnership
• Domestic Partnership
• NAPS
• Research
• Profiling One-parent families
• Family law

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Current Key Policy Areas

• Working for a constitution which affords equal
  rights to all families
• Recognising the realities of the diversity of
  family life in Ireland
• Ensuring equality of access and opportunity in
  education for one-parent families
• Working for a positive work life balance for
  one-parent families
• Striving for equality for one-parent families in
  all housing tenures
• Championing quality childcare for children in
  one-parent families
• Campaigning for access to an adequate income for
  all one-parent families
• Working for equitable services in all pregnancies

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Key Areas of work

• Anti-Poverty work-Policy development
• Family Diversity Work-Constitutional, Legal and
  Policy change

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Family Diversity Issues

• Increasing Family diversity
• Constitutional definition of the family
• Marital and relationship breakdown
• Rights of children
• Families with Additional needs
• Equitable Access to pregnancy services
• Access to services for members of new communities
  
• Access and affordability of legal remedies
• Alternatives to legal remedies
• In-camera ruling, lack of information on
  statistics and trends

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Key Anti-Poverty Issues

• Reduced child and family poverty
• Reduced dependence on social welfare
• Increased access to early childhood development
  and education
• Improved access to services education and
  training, childcare, including after school care,
  health services and accommodation
• Innovative and positive engagement with
  one-parent families in relation to increasing
  their role in the labour market
• Recognition for the important role that parenting
  plays in Irish society and development of
  realistic work life balance options for those
  parenting alone and
• Co-ordination of services and supports, including
  information.

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Government Proposals on Supporting Lone Parents
April 206

• To replace the One Parent Family Payment (OPFP)
  with a Parental Allowance (PA) at the same rate
  and conditions, payable until the youngest child
  reaches the age of eight.
• Removal of the cohabitation rule and payment of
  the PA to one parent in low-income families that
  qualify under the means test.
• Engagement by the state with recipients of the PA
  when their youngest child is aged five, to
  discuss and support participation in a range of
  education, training and employment possibilities.
  
• After the youngest child reaches the age of
  eight, removal of the PA and transfer to
  Unemployment Assistance (UA) if the recipient is
  not working or engaged in education or training.

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Our Views on The Proposals

• Support for engagement and access to training,
  education and employment
• Impact on Poverty -Need to complement the
  proposal with targeted initiatives that reduce
  child poverty and raise income levels among those
  dependent on social welfare.
• Service provision -Need for commitments and
  related budgets from the relevant government
  departments and agencies to provide innovative
  and flexible education and training, childcare,
  particularly after-school care, as well as the
  housing supports required.
• Teen parents Need to provide nationwide services
  to support this small but particularly vulnerable
  group to stay in the education system.
• Lack of recognition of the vital parenting role
  played by those parenting alone which continues
  after seven and can be particularly significant
  in the teenage years
• Research -Need to understand the actual
  circumstances faced by those parenting alone.

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Outcome of Our Consultation process

• Lone parents want to engage but also want choice
  on work/life balance options
• Lone parents want to work and are doing so when
  it is financially viable
• Proposals as framed are creating fear,
  particularly for the most vulnerable
• Doubts that services will be provided
• Particular concern about rent supplement and
  other poverty traps

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NESC Framework
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Our Proposals

• A voluntary System-working with those most able
  to respond
• Implementation Committee-development and
  implementation of supporting strategies
• Lone Parent Guarantee
• Participation Fund
• Innovative models of engagement
• Review and Reconsideration
• Research

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Issues for Discussion

• Engagement process-how best to develop it
• Issues that arise in your work
• Parenting/Work Balance

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Stay in touch

• One Family
• Cherish House
• 2 Lower Pembroke Street
• Dublin 2
• Tel [phone]
• Ask One Family Lo-Call 1890 66 22 12
• info_at_onefamily.ie www.onefamily.ie
• CAN membership

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