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Evaluating “People Offering Parents Support” (POPS): A Qualitative Study of Peer Parental Advocacy in Welsh Child Welfare Services

Shane Powell, Emilia Preter, Samantha Fitz-Symonds, Clive Diaz Orcid Logo, Vicky Hansly

Child Care in Practice, Volume: 32, Issue: 3, Pages: 312 - 331

Swansea University Author: Clive Diaz Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/13575279.2026.2648980

Abstract

This qualitative study evaluates the People Offering Parents Support (POPS) programme, a peer parental advocacy initiative within Welsh child welfare services. Aimed at empowering parents navigating complex child protection systems, POPS recruits mentors with lived experience of related challenges t...

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Published in: Child Care in Practice
ISSN: 1357-5279 1476-489X
Published: Informa UK Limited 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa72185
first_indexed 2026-06-29T10:23:06Z
last_indexed 2026-06-29T10:23:06Z
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spelling v2 72185 2026-06-29 Evaluating “People Offering Parents Support” (POPS): A Qualitative Study of Peer Parental Advocacy in Welsh Child Welfare Services 5180251a01f9ecc3a101fd8fbb075158 0000-0001-5681-9056 Clive Diaz Clive Diaz true false 2026-06-29 HSOC This qualitative study evaluates the People Offering Parents Support (POPS) programme, a peer parental advocacy initiative within Welsh child welfare services. Aimed at empowering parents navigating complex child protection systems, POPS recruits mentors with lived experience of related challenges to provide guidance and advocacy. Through semi-structured interviews with parents, peer mentors, and professionals, the study examines the programme’s impact on parental engagement, system navigation, and emotional support. Findings reveal that peer mentoring enhances parents’ confidence, knowledge, and emotional resilience, enabling more effective participation in child welfare processes. However, challenges related to role boundaries, professional integration, and sustainability were identified. This study contributes to the growing body of research on peer parental advocacy and offers insights into the potential of such models to transform child welfare services by fostering more inclusive, supportive, and empowering environments for families. Journal Article Child Care in Practice 32 3 312 331 Informa UK Limited 1357-5279 1476-489X Peer parental advocacy; Child welfare; Parental engagement; Wales; Qualitative evaluation 1 7 2026 2026-07-01 10.1080/13575279.2026.2648980 COLLEGE NANME Health and Social Care School COLLEGE CODE HSOC Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee The POPS programme was funded by North Wales Social Services, with the independent evaluation conducted by Cardiff University's CASCADE research centre. 2026-06-29T11:23:58.5939331 2026-06-29T11:18:19.3687717 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Health and Social Care - Social Work Shane Powell 1 Emilia Preter 2 Samantha Fitz-Symonds 3 Clive Diaz 0000-0001-5681-9056 4 Vicky Hansly 5 72185__37072__1c5ce116088f4d89a2647bc6ac6d0b02.pdf 72185.VOR.pdf 2026-06-29T11:22:03.6211042 Output 798133 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Evaluating “People Offering Parents Support” (POPS): A Qualitative Study of Peer Parental Advocacy in Welsh Child Welfare Services
spellingShingle Evaluating “People Offering Parents Support” (POPS): A Qualitative Study of Peer Parental Advocacy in Welsh Child Welfare Services
Clive Diaz
title_short Evaluating “People Offering Parents Support” (POPS): A Qualitative Study of Peer Parental Advocacy in Welsh Child Welfare Services
title_full Evaluating “People Offering Parents Support” (POPS): A Qualitative Study of Peer Parental Advocacy in Welsh Child Welfare Services
title_fullStr Evaluating “People Offering Parents Support” (POPS): A Qualitative Study of Peer Parental Advocacy in Welsh Child Welfare Services
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating “People Offering Parents Support” (POPS): A Qualitative Study of Peer Parental Advocacy in Welsh Child Welfare Services
title_sort Evaluating “People Offering Parents Support” (POPS): A Qualitative Study of Peer Parental Advocacy in Welsh Child Welfare Services
author_id_str_mv 5180251a01f9ecc3a101fd8fbb075158
author_id_fullname_str_mv 5180251a01f9ecc3a101fd8fbb075158_***_Clive Diaz
author Clive Diaz
author2 Shane Powell
Emilia Preter
Samantha Fitz-Symonds
Clive Diaz
Vicky Hansly
format Journal article
container_title Child Care in Practice
container_volume 32
container_issue 3
container_start_page 312
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 1357-5279
1476-489X
doi_str_mv 10.1080/13575279.2026.2648980
publisher Informa UK Limited
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Health and Social Care - Social Work{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Health and Social Care - Social Work
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description This qualitative study evaluates the People Offering Parents Support (POPS) programme, a peer parental advocacy initiative within Welsh child welfare services. Aimed at empowering parents navigating complex child protection systems, POPS recruits mentors with lived experience of related challenges to provide guidance and advocacy. Through semi-structured interviews with parents, peer mentors, and professionals, the study examines the programme’s impact on parental engagement, system navigation, and emotional support. Findings reveal that peer mentoring enhances parents’ confidence, knowledge, and emotional resilience, enabling more effective participation in child welfare processes. However, challenges related to role boundaries, professional integration, and sustainability were identified. This study contributes to the growing body of research on peer parental advocacy and offers insights into the potential of such models to transform child welfare services by fostering more inclusive, supportive, and empowering environments for families.
published_date 2026-07-01T11:24:00Z
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score 11.110583

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