Changing Times For One-Parent Families
It has been an eventful month for One Family and for the families we work with and for. With the Children and Family Relationships Bill published today and the One-Parent Family Payment changes being at the fore of conversation in recent weeks, One Family has been working hard to make sure the voices of one-parent families and those who share parenting are listened to. Read more about these two important topics below.
 This week we are hosting representatives from Women for Women from the Czech Republic who are in Ireland to review services for families, in particular one-parent families. We devised a packed schedule for Kamila, Ivana and Nada who accompanied us to an Oireachtas Committee presentation and will be attending a symposium on the labour market. We are delighted to further develop our relationships with our international colleagues.
We are looking forward to the first meeting of our Policy Panel on Monday 23 February. The Panel is made up of men and women from around the country who parent on their own or share parenting. Its members will collaborate with us on our policy and budget submissions throughout the year ahead, and on our election manifesto.
With our 2015 parenting programmes in full swing, we welcomed clients back to Cherish House and their children to our créche. Our first online facilitated parenting course started too, with almost 140 participants. Also, our Professional Development programmes are taking place around the country. All are booking now for March and April.
Please think of us next time you are out shopping as we are still gathering nominations for the Tesco Community Fund. This funding is based solely on public nominations so pick up a nomination form in your local Tesco store or click here to download from the Tesco Community Fund Website.
Scroll down for more news!
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Children & Family Relationships Bill
It has been called 'the most important piece of family legislation for a generation'. Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald received Cabinet approval for the Children & Family Relationships Bill on Tuesday 17 February. One Family has been advocating for the Bill along with many other children, family and human-rights organisations as part of the Children's Rights Alliance and acknowledges that, while not perfect, it is groundbreaking in recognising and supporting the complexity of family arrangements that children live in today. The Bill was published today and will be debated next week. It is expected to pass through the Dáil in late March. Read our Press Release here and our CEO Karen Kiernan's piece in TheJournal.ie today here.
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One-Parent Family Payment
Yesterday One Family presented to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection about the impacts of the changes to the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) which will affect almost 39,000 lone parents this year. Our Director of Policy and Programmes, Stuart Duffin, stressed the reality of the consistent poverty that one-parent families in Ireland already experience. We told the Committee that our doors are always open to the Oireachtas and to the Department of Social Protection to engage on these issues. One Family also issued a press release on the impacts of changes to the One-Parent Family Payment where we called for the Department of Social Protection to #GetitRightDSP for one-parent families. You can read it here.
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Monthly Survey
Every month we invite people who parent on their own or share parenting to take our short, anonymous survey. Our February Survey is about Child Benefit. Take it here and let us know what you think about possible 'targeted' cuts to social welfare payments in the future. Results will be posted to our websites survey page at the end of the month. The results for our January survey are available now. We asked what one thing Government could do for you to improve your family's quality of life. Read what you told us here. Thank you for your continued engagement with us via our surveys on this and many other important issues arising for one-parent families. |
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Learning With Us
A focus of our work has always been on learning and development. We offer a number of programmes for professionals and for parents. Our Professional Development suite of programmes includes everything from half day skills acquisition workshops to intensive 3-day programmes. They are booking now for March and April around the country. Find out more here. Our parenting programmes, which include parenting skills and shared parenting courses, register on an on-going basis. We also offer welfare to work programmes such as our acclaimed New Futures which supports participants to identify and achieve progressive choices towards education or employment. |
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Facebook Q&As
Our weekly 10 ways to parenting tips series is published every Friday, followed by a live Facebook Q&A with our Director of Children and Parenting Services every Monday at 11am. This month, we will explore: Children, Emotions, Play and Learning; How to Talk to Your Children About Your Family Situation; and many more. We have also been holding weekly Facebook Q&A sessions with our askonefamily manager, Sarah, to offer information on the One-Parent Family Payment changes. Our next Q&A on the OFP will be held on Wednesday 25 February from 11am-12pm. For more information on this or any topic, contact our askonefamily helpline on 1890 66 22 12. |
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