Date and time
Fri, 29 Nov 2024 16:00 – 18:00 GMT
On the 29th November at 4pm til 6pm PFAN are hosting a parent advocacy webinar organised and chaired by our co-chair Tammy Mayes, a parent with lived experience and a parent advocate in her own right.
We will be talking about all different aspects of parent advocacy, from research to support and setting it up.
We have some amazing speakers confirmed and some to still be confirmed. There will be a question and answer session for 30 minutes at the end.
Speakers will be:
David Tobis, Ph.D. is one of the world leaders supporting and promoting parent advocacy and parent activism in child welfare. He was the executive director of the Child Welfare Fund in New York City, which helped launch parent activism in child welfare. His book, From Pariahs to Partners: How Parents and their Allies Changed New York City’s Child Welfare System (Oxford University Press, 2013) documents the dramatic changes parents and their allies helped bring about in New York’s child welfare system. He is Ambassador-At-Large for the International Parent Advocacy Network (IPAN) that builds a parent-led movement to reform child welfare systems globally.
David also worked as a consultant to UNICEF, the World Bank, governments, NGOs, and foundations in over 30 countries. His monograph, published by the World Bank, Moving from Residential Institutions to Community-Based Social Services in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union became the basis for the World Bank’s deinstitutionalization and community services strategy in the region.
Alasdair Smith, Director of Children’s Services at Southwark Council. He qualified as a social worker over 30 years ago and is now responsible for local authority education, social care and youth justice services for children and young people and their families in this inner London borough. As Director he initiated and oversaw the implementation of parent-to-parent peer advocacy, where parents with experience of Children’s Services use their knowledge to support other parents and carers in such situations.
Jacqui Cox is the Family Inclusion Coordinator in Southwark Council Children’s Services and leads its Family Advocacy service.
Nicola Smith is a family advocate in Southwark Council. Nicola is a special guardian and is also a trained FGC and Lifelong Links Coordinator.
Tammy Mayes is an SEN parent with lived experience, the co-chair of PFAN and also an anti poverty activist.
A Zoom link will be sent out to the attendees on the morning of the event.