An analysis of different resources and programmes supporting at-risk families in Spain

• Published in: Early child development and care 2018-11, Vol.188 (11), p.1528-1539
• Main Authors: Hidalgo, Victoria, Pérez-Padilla, Javier, Sánchez, Jose, Ayala-Nunes, Lara, Maya, Jesús, Grimaldi, Víctor, Menéndez, Susana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: At Risk Persons; at-risk families; Child Development; Educational Quality; Evidence Based Practice; evidence-based programmes; Family Programs; Family support; Family support services; Foreign Countries; Health promotion; Intervention; Needs assessment; Parent Child Relationship; Parent Education; Parenthood education; Parenting Skills; Parents & parenting; positive parenting; Program Evaluation; Psychoeducational Methods; Public Agencies; quality standards; Social support; Support services
• ISSN: 0300-4430; 1476-8275
• DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2018.1491560

The purpose of this research was to present an overview of the existing family support resources in Spain for at-risk families. We analysed 64 family support services from 16 agencies belong to 11 regions of Spain. In a second phase, 20 positive parenting programmes were analysed in depth to ascertain the extent to which they met evidence-based programme quality criteria. Our results suggest that services for at-risk families are delivered by public, local and social agencies. Most interventions were psycho-educational and aimed at parental training. The analysis of the positive parenting programmes' quality showed both strengths and weaknesses. Most programmes relied on a previous needs analysis and interventions were, to some extent, outlined in a manual. Nevertheless, few programmes have been evaluated according to evidence-based programme criteria. In light of these results, we discuss several practical implications for services and family support policies aimed at at-risk families.