ABSTRACT
In all family support projects that invoke parental involvement there is the risk that participation will be tokenistic. This may be because the process of setting them up may be participatory but the objectives may be pre-set and have wholly to do with various benchmarks or targets for attainments by the users – parents and children – who have had little say in the overall framework. Smith notes two different ideas of power embedded in notions of participation in work with children and families (1996: 183):
1 Parents’ learning to parent or cope with their children’s behaviour from role models in places like family centres depends on high levels of participation – requiring their active presence day after day – yet power rests with the staff and associated professionals throughout. This will apply to referred clients within a context of child protection objectives.
