Technique Is Not Enough (TINE) - British Psychological Society

providers and partner agencies were slow to distribute promotional materials. They reliedon open access screening events with little outreach to identify parents with particulardifficulties. Target group families simply didn’t hear about the programme. Then, once theprogramme started, levels of drop-out were high, particularly early on in the process, notleast because no-one took responsibility for encouraging and enabling parents to attend.4.4. Addressing these issues in practiceWhile it was not possible to address all of the problems identified in this illustration manysolutions were put in place.1. More time and energy were invested in briefing partner agencies to inform them ofthe programme. Then the referral process was strengthened. A recruitment pack wascompiled and distributed and efforts were made to ensure local staff knew thescreening criteria.2. Additional support was provided to enhance the local providers’ capacity to deliverthe programme and ‘wraparound care’. Extra money was paid to providers to coverrefreshments, administration, crèche and interpreting services, and providersreceived more funding for demonstrating high recruitment and retention rates.3. A concerted set of parent engagement activities was also put in place. Outreach eventswere held in residential areas and public spaces often frequented by families withyoung children, and a crib sheet was prepared to help people involved in this face-tofacework address parents’ frequently mentioned concerns about the programme.4. The accessibility of the programmes was enhanced and, crucially, these features wereadded to publicity materials. For example, the incentives of a free crèche andtransport were made widely known.From this brief overview of research and practice on parent recruitment and retention atleast 12 key lessons emerge (Box 2).Box 2: Lessons for parent recruitment and retention1. Lots of children and families who need parenting programmes don’t get them, and theywon’t unless the people responsible for commissioning and providing them act to makethem more accessible.2. If we don’t engage parents in programmes, the programmes won’t work.3. Engage providers first if you want them to engage parents.4. Have a clear recruitment process and train everyone involved including other local parents.5. Invest in and incentivise recruitment and retention.6. Get out there! Go to parents; don’t expect them to come to you.7. Build relationships: visit, call, then visit and call again.8. Make parents want to attend programmes, and make it easy for them to do so.9. Be creative! Try out innovative recruitment ideas and evaluate them against the outcome.10. Recruit parents to come and try it once and see if they wish to return.11. Recruitment is nothing without retention.12. Aim high but remain realistic: life gets in the way of the best intentions.30 Professional Practice Board