arentsAsTeachers.org 8:29 TRAINING GUIDE Ill 5G 704 Parents as Teachers. Framing Sensitive Conversations Within the Three Roles Parent educators may feel cautious or unsure about how to have potentially sensitive conversations with families. Confidence with one's role can have a significant impact on one's ability to have these sensitive conversations. Parents as Teachers has three defining elements to our approach: partnering, facilitating, and reflecting. When parent educators remember that the purpose of the conversations is not to intrude, but to seek understanding and to offer support, then they become more comfortable facilitating the conversations. In turn, the parent educators' comfort and confidence helps put the parent at ease. Partnering One way parent educators partner with families is by being transparent. When they first start visiting a family, they explain the services, expectations for participation, confidentiality, and how information about the family and the services provided to them will be documented and used. Model Implementation Training Guide The process of obtaining informed consent for services is as important as the signed document itself. Parent educators talk through each item on the consent form with the parents, invite the parents to share any questions or concerns, and tell the parent that they can change their minds at any time. This communicates that services are not just delivered to the family but in partnership with the family. Parent educators let parents know that they would like to discuss a variety of items, including but not limited to their living situation, education, employment, and health. They clearly communicate the purpose of these discussions: to get to know the family and help tailor services. Parent educators may find it helpful to begin certain discussions, such as when gathering information for the Parent/ Guardian Information Record or family- centered assessment, by acknowledging that while some of this information may feel personal, it is vital in understanding the family and working with them. Transparency helps build the trust and rapport so important to the parent educator-family partnership and helps make potentially sensitive conversations more manageable. Respect is another important element in partnering around sensitive conversations. Parent educators express interest in and appreciation of each family's cultural background, their experiences, their stressors, and their strengths. They learn about the family through open-ended questions and active listening. They listen not only for areas of need but also for areas of strength. This demonstration of respect can lessen a family's fears that they may be judged, leading them to engage more freely in the conversation. Facilitating When parent educators partner to create a space of trust and mutual respect, facilitating conversations becomes easier. By definition, to facilitate is to make easy" Framing Sensitive Conversations Within the Three Roles | 17 TRAINING GUIDE or "to ease a process." When applying it to potentially sensitive conversations, parent educators use facilitation to make the conversation easier for the parents. Advance preparation and a strengths- based approach support effective facilitation. Preparing includes revisiting the boundaries of one's role, particularly when doing screening and family-centered assessment. When parent educators are clear that their role is to screen, educate, empower, and provide resource connections not to diagnose or treat - this can increase their comfort and confidence in doing these screenings. The strengths base that is central to the PAT approach helps ensure that parent educators approach sensitive conversations with an attitude of openness and caring for the family. Parent educators convey that they are not afraid to hear what the family has to say, as they understand that there are strengths and challenges in all of our life experiences. This is accomplished through open- ended questions and active listening. Parent educators stay fully present and seek to understand the family's perspective. They can pause and reflect back through paraphrasing to ensure understanding. Model Implementation Training Guide The Parents as Teachers approach The Parents as Teachers approach is to partner, facilitate, and reflect. This approach occurs in all areas of work within the organization, from a parent educator visiting a family in their home ato the work of the National Center. Partner > Work collaboratively to set and achieve goals. > Acknowledge and accept others' roles and shared responsibilities. > Respond flexibly to others' needs. and routines. > Recognize personal resources and support systems. > Relinquish the starring role." > Recognize that every voice is important and is united around a common interest. > Maintain confidentiality. Facilitate > Gain the perspectives of others. > Use objective, research- based information to support decision making. > Parents as Teachers. Create a safe environment to explore and wonder together. > Coach and support to try new > strategies and sustain interactions. Communicate (through active listening; determining knowledge gaps and sharing relevant information; prompting; and refocusing or redirecting). > Interpret behavior. > Motivate (to sustain interactions; encourage; affirm; share ideas; and promote practice). > Connect (through observations of behavior; experiences and information; or culture and parenting). Reflect > Use evidence-based practices to prompt reflection and awareness. > Increase awareness of assumptions and perspectives. > Motivate a commitment to change. > Integrate new learning into decision making. > Explore reasons for behavior. Framing Sensitive Conversations Within the Three Roles | 18 < ebiz.patnc.org 2020, Parents as 1 8:29 then they become more comfortable facilitating the conversations. In turn, the parent educators' comfort and confidence h 2 of 3 e. rs partner with families is by being transparent. When they first start visiting a family, they explain the services, expectations for participation, confidentiality, and how information about the family and the services provided to them will be documented and used. Model Implementation Training Guide items, including but not limited to their living situation, education, employment, and health. They clearly communicate the purpose of these discussions: to get to know the family and help tailor services. Parent educators may find it helpful to begin certain discussions, such as when gathering information for the Parent/ Guardian Information Record or family- centered assessment, by acknowledging that while some of this information may feel personal, it is vital in understanding the family and working with them. Ill 5G 704 questions and active listening. They listen. not only for areas of need but also for areas of strength. This demonstration of respect can lessen a family's fears that they may be judged, leading them to engage more freely in the conversation. Facilitating When parent educators partner to create a space of trust and mutual respect, facilitating conversations becomes easier. By definition, to facilitate is "to make easy" Framing Sensitive Conversations Within the Three Roles | 17 TRAINING GUIDE or "to ease a process." When applying it to potentially sensitive conversations, parent educators use facilitation to make the conversation easier for the parents. Advance preparation and a strengths- based approach support effective facilitation. Preparing includes revisiting the boundaries of one's role, particularly when doing screening and family-centered assessment. When parent educators are clear that their role is to screen, educate, empower, and provide resource connections not to diagnose or treat - this can increase their comfort and confidence in doing these screenings. The strengths base that is central to the PAT approach helps ensure that parent educators approach sensitive conversations with an attitude of openness and caring for the family. Parent educators convey that they are not afraid to hear what the family has to say, as they understand that there are strengths and challenges in all of our life experiences. This is accomplished through open- ended questions and active listening. Parent educators stay fully present and seek to understand the family's perspective. They can pause and reflect back through paraphrasing to ensure understanding. Model Implementation Training Guide The Parents as Teachers approach The Parents as Teachers approach is to partner, facilitate, and reflect. This approach occurs in all areas of work within the organization, from a parent educator visiting a family in their home ato the work of the National Center. Partner > Work collaboratively to set and achieve goals. > Acknowledge and accept others' roles and shared responsibilities. > Respond flexibly to others' needs and routines. > Recognize personal resources and support systems. > Relinquish the starring role." > Recognize that every voice is important and is united around a common interest. > Maintain confidentiality. Facilitate > Gain the perspectives of others. > Use objective, research- based information to support decision making. > Parents as Teachers. Create a safe environment to explore and wonder together. > Coach and support to try new strategies and sustain interactions. Communicate (through active listening; determining knowledge gaps and sharing relevant > information; prompting; and refocusing or redirecting). > Interpret behavior. > Motivate (to sustain interactions; encourage; affirm; share ideas; and promote practice). > Connect (through observations of behavior; experiences and information; or culture and parenting). Reflect > Use evidence-based practices to prompt reflection and awareness. > Increase awareness of assumptions and perspectives. > Motivate a commitment to change. > Integrate new learning into decision making. > Explore reasons for behavior. Framing Sensitive Conversations Within the Three Roles | 18 TRAINING GUIDE Reflecting Parent educators approach sensitive conversations thoughtfully, not simply as a task that must checked off. They reflect on the information and data as they are discussing it with the parents. They repeat/ restate information or statements provided by the parents, with an effort to understand the parents' perspective. When all new information shared by the parents is exhausted, the parent educators layer on additional questions. This shows that the parent educators not only listen for understanding to what the parents said but also are interested in learning more. Using reflective questions within an atmosphere of acceptance can help parent educators gather needed information, build rapport, and prompt insight on the part of the parents. Creating space for a rhythm of reflection includes pausing, listening for understanding, and using reflective, open- ended questioning. The three roles of the parent educators partnering, facilitating, and reflecting - are key to having even the most sensitive conversations with families. 2020, Parents as Teachers National Center, Inc. ParentsAs Teachers.org Model Implementation Training Guide ebiz.patnc.org Framing Sensitive Conversations Within the Three Roles | 19 Parents as Teachers.