PARENTS FOR PARENTS PROGRAM INFORMAITON

Parents with lived child welfare experience are here to help support you through this. We have classes, tips, resources and phone mentoring available. 

The Shelter Care Hearing

Parents typically come to court for their first hearing feeling scared, confused, angry, and alone. A Parent Ally (PA) will:

• Meet with parents before they go into court. The PA is someone the parent can relate to and share hope that family preservation or reunification is possible. This helps diffuse some negative feelings and attitudes, and helps parents be more open-minded to engage in the process of working with the professionals in the system. 
• Talk with the parent about Dependency 101 class and the benefits of attending. The PA gathers contact information from the parent, signs him or her up for the Dependency 101 class, provides moral support, and gives parents information about local resources.   

Dependency 101 Class

The Dependency 101 class is designed to educate parents about how to navigate the dependency system as well as provide tools and resources that help empower parents to be successful during their dependency case. Parent Allies and child welfare dependency court professionals collaborate in presenting information to parents. 

During the class, parents will:  

• Fill out a "before" and "after" survey to measure the effectiveness of the class. 
• Receive a folder of information about the dependency system, a phone list for numbers pertinent to their dependency, a list of current community resources, and other tools for a successful dependency.  
• Watch an educational video about the dependency process. 
• Listen to Parent Allies share their experience going through the system. 
• Hear from stakeholders that include a Judge or Commissioner, AAG, CASA/GAL, child welfare worker, and a parent attorney share about their roles and responsibilities in the case. 
• Receive a certificate for completing the class.

Ongoing Support

In-person ongoing peer mentorship and support is available from Parent Allies, between the hours of:

Monday: 8 am until 12 pm

Wednesday: 8 am until 12 pm

Thursday: 8 am until 5 pm

Phone mentorship is available Monday through Friday, 9 am until 5 pm.