New centre to support parents

Today I was pleased to attend the launch of the Centre for Parenting Excellence, developed by the Department of Local Government and Communities to support and improve parenting services in Western Australia.

As we all know, good parenting is critical to the wellbeing of children and the challenges parents face vary greatly as their children grow from newborns, through their schooling years and into early adulthood.

Different parents will require different types of support and information at different times, but many parents report to my office they struggle to know where to turn when they need support.

Ensuring that parent information and support is well coordinated, easily accessible, flexible and culturally appropriate, and based on what we know works is vital.

The Centre for Parenting Excellence will help to achieve this.

Through its research, the Centre will monitor parents’ needs, encourage best practice and evaluate the outcomes of parenting services.

I am sitting on the Centre’s Steering Committee and look forward to seeing how it helps to support parents so that their children can grow up healthier and happier.