Maintenance Downtime Announcement

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DowntimeOwing to essential technical maintenance, One Family will not have telephone, email or internet services this afternoon, Friday 6 March. This scheduled maintenance downtime will continue through Saturday 7 March. All systems are expected to be fully operational by 9am on Monday 9 March.

We will respond to voicemails and emails as soon as possible after service is fully restored; but please anticipate that it may not be possible to leave voicemails or send emails to @onefamily.ie email addresses during the maintenance downtime. We regret any inconvenience that may be caused. Useful information, resources and links are available here on our website.

The Special Interest Group – Supporting Parents in their Parenting Role

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Karen Kiernan, right

Karen Kiernan, right

One Family is a member of The Special Interest Group – Supporting Parents in their Parenting Role. Established in December 2010 by the Centre for Effective Services, The Special Interest Group on Supporting Parents in their Parenting Role is an all-island group with 27 members including statutory and voluntary agencies involved in the delivery of parenting supports, practitioners, researchers and advocacy organisations.

On Tuesday 24 February 2015, the Special Interest Group hosted a conference in Dublin Castle entitled Supporting Parents: Sharing good practice, models and approaches. This conference provided an opportunity for those working in or with an interest in services for parents, children and families to share good practice models and approaches in supporting parents throughout the island of Ireland. The Keynote Speaker was Robin Balbernie, Clinical Director of Parent Infant Partnership UK (PIPUK).

The full Conference Programme can be read here.

Paula Lonergan, centre

Paula Lonergan, centre left

One Family CEO Karen Kiernan presented at the conference. One Family Director of Professional Development Paula Lonergan also presented, on our Positive Parenting for Changing Families programme for professionals working with children, parents and families, particularly diverse families experiencing change. Paula’s presentation can be viewed here.

View and download all the conference presentations here.

A slideshow of images from the conference can be viewed here.

One-Parent Family Poverty Demonstrated By Household Finance and Consumption Survey 2013

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CSOThe Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the results of the 2013 Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) 2013 today, which was undertaken between March and September 2013. The HFCS collects data on household assets and liabilities, income, consumption and credit constraints. The figures released  demonstrate the effects of the overt discrimination and disadvantage experienced  by one-parent families in Ireland as a result of Government tactics and policies. This is shameful.

Stuart Duffin, One Family Director of Policy & Programmes, responds: “This is yet more very worrying data on the situation of one-parent families, in particular in terms of their level of savings, assets and also debt, particularly on non-mortgage loans. While lone parent households make up 4.4% of all households covered by the survey, they only account for 0.7% of total net wealth.”

“This is bad news for parents struggling on low and insecure wages, coping with rising living costs and no coordinated supports,” he continues. “Parents are short of the money essential for basics. This impacts on and can define a child’s life; denying opportunities and quality of life which increases the odds of a damaged future and a lifetime of disadvantage.”

This follows closely on and reinforces data from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2013 published last Wednesday which shows that 63% of one-parent family households in Ireland suffer deprivation, and the lived daily realities of the one-parent families One Family supports.

Read our response to SILC 2013 here.

The CSO press release can be read here and the Household Finance and Consumption Survey 2013 downloaded here.

Safefood Urges Parents to Say No to Treats Every Day

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Safefood Just Say No

safefood’s excellent Childhood Obesity campaign launches into another phase today with a focus on treat foods for children. safefood is urging parents to say no to sweets, biscuits and crisps every day and to cut down on the amount of treat foods children are eating, so that a treat food becomes just that – an occasional treat, rather than an every day part of a child’s diet.

Parents can access a list of popular children’s ‘treats’ and their calorie content on the safefood website as well as video advice and top tips from health experts on healthy eating and how to be more active. You can follow the campaign on social media using the hashtag #letssayno.

You can also read, as part of One Family’s weekly series of parenting tips, our 10 Ways to Encourage Healthier Eating Habits and 10 Ways to Make the Most of the Playground.

 

 

Karen Kiernan

One Family CEO Karen Kiernan Appointed to ‘Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures’ Advisory Council

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CEO of One Family, Karen Kiernan, has been appointed to the Advisory Council being established by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs under Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014-2020.

The Children’s Rights Alliance (CRA) requested nominations from its members with the appointments made by Paul Gilligan, Chair and Tom Costello, Vice Chair of the CRA with support from its Chief Executive.

The three successful nominees are:

  • Karen Kiernan, Chief Executive, One Family
  • Caroline O’Sullivan,  Director of Services, Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC)
  • Tanya Ward, Chief Executive, Children’s Rights Alliance

One Family looks forward to updating its members as the work of the Advisory Council progresses.