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The prevalence of developmentally vulnerable children living with parental mental illness has been well documented, however due to stigmatised attitudes and prejudice these children may be ‘hidden’ and not identified as requiring additional assistance in early childhood settings. The aim of the present study was to explore the experiences and workforce needs of centre-based child care staff working with families living with parental mental illness. Eight staff (four child care workers and four child care directors) who worked in centre-based child care were interviewed using a semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis framework. The findings of the present study highlighted four central themes: child development issues, tension around referral and worker anxiety, inadequate knowledge and training about parental mental illness and sensitivity when working with families. While these participants knowingly prioritized the importance of working with families in their daily work, they described feeling stressed and anxious about discussing referral options with these parents, and often worried about ‘making things worse’ for the child and the parent. The present study has contributed knowledge in regard to an important segment of the early childhood workforce; such information can inform the development of tailored professional training and resources that provide information about referral procedures and support programs for these families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universal parenting programs, which are preventative social services seeking to strengthen parent child relationships, are not as common as those targeting specific physical or behavioral conditions in children. They have been evaluated less frequently, and yet their focus on prevention rather than treatment can lead to long term social and economic gains. Parents Building Solutions (PBS) is a universal, group-work parenting program where a skilled facilitator uses a co-design methodology to develop the program's agenda and content with parents. A pilot, quasi experiemental pre-test post-test trial was conducted to determine the program's efficacy in fostering increases in parenting quality, confidence, self-efficacy, and parental understanding of child development, as well as improving the ability of parents to respond effectively to children's behavior. Attrition was also measured. Data was collected at three time points from 58 parents (baseline) in three regions in Melbourne, Australia. Statistically significant differences were seen for all measures, with large effect sizes. Attrition was low with 90% of participants completing the program. Using a co-design methodology as a way to engage and retain parents may be a critical factor in the success of PBS, however further research is needed to firmly establish efficacy. • Universal prevention and early intervention parenting programs are under researched. • Parenting programs often suffer from high attrition and low engagement. • Parents Building Solutions (PBS) uses co-design and strength-based approaches. • A 'real-world' program, PBS is responsive, flexible and reaches parents everyday. • Low attrition and strong engagement is attributed to the co-design methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]