Understanding and improving public and media awareness of family support services and supports: Challenges and opportunities for research and practice

Public and media understandings of statutory child welfare services tend to be more focused on child protection rather than support and prevention services. The aim of the public awareness package was to consider how the public can be made more aware of support, prevention and partnership services within Tusla. The chapter provides an overview of the research process engaged in and provides sample findings relating to the public awareness package. Three literature sources that informed the study are summarised: help-seeking, public awareness campaigns and literature relating to the media and child welfare. The authors then report a sample of results from the published findings and discuss how these findings impacted public awareness activities during the study period. They demonstrate the complexity of undertaking moment-in-time, in-process, research where so many of the factors are beyond the control of the parties involved. The chapter gives a sense of ‘real-world’ research where one has to expect a constant process of change and review. The discussion includes reflections on three core themes arising from the work: the need for critical reflection on public understanding of child protection and family support; the value of having a partnership process; and the importance of learning to inform how child welfare agencies can better engage the public and the media to normalise pathways to help-seeking behaviours for children and families.