Parenting Today: Experiences of Child and Family Services in Victoria

Parent feedback

A chance for parents to share their experiences

The Parenting Research Centre is inviting parents and carers in Victoria to take part in an important research project about parenting, wellbeing and experiences with family services, child protection and out-of-home care (OOHC).

Many families who have contact with these services are rarely included in large surveys. Hearing directly from parents and carers helps improve how supports are designed and delivered — earlier, more respectfully and in ways that better meet families’ needs.

Survey will be live April 27

About the survey

Who this survey is for

This project is for Victorian parents and carers of children aged 0–18 who have had contact with:

family services or intensive family support
in-home support
family preservation or reunification services
parenting support programs
child protection
out-of-home care, including kinship or foster care

This includes parents, kinship carers, foster carers, and parents who do not currently have their child in their care.

What’s involved

Parents and carers can choose how they take part.

Survey

Available online or by telephone
Takes about 20–25 minutes
Asks about:
- parenting experiences
- wellbeing
- how support was sought
- experiences with services
- what helped — and what might have helped earlier

Some parents may also choose to be contacted about an optional follow-up interview.

Optional follow-up interview

20–30 minute phone conversation
Explores experiences in more depth
Participants receive a $50 voucher as thanks.

Why this matters — for families and services

Parents with lived experience of the service system hold important insight into:

what support felt helpful or unhelpful
barriers to getting help early
moments where things could have been done differently
what respectful, effective support actually looks like.

Sharing these experiences helps build a stronger evidence base for improving services across Victoria.

Common questions

This is often the most important part for families to know.

Taking part is completely voluntary
Survey responses are anonymous — names are not linked to answers
Nothing shared goes back to Child Protection, services or workers
Participation does not affect access to services
Questions can be skipped, and participation can stop at any time

Contact details are only collected if a parent chooses to be contacted for an interview, and these details are kept separate from survey responses.

Practitioners play an important role in helping families feel safe to participate.

Previous research has shown that:

families trust information shared by workers they know
reassurance about privacy and safety increases participation
service-based sharing leads to more genuine responses

You can support this work by:

sharing the survey link with parents and carers
displaying information in waiting rooms or sending via SMS or email
letting families know they can choose online or telephone participation, including support in languages other than English
reassuring families that participation is voluntary, anonymous and safe

Parent contact details should only be shared if the parent asks and gives permission.

Want to know more?

Contact the Parenting Today survey research team for help with any questions or further enquiries you may have.

Email us

More about the Parenting Today national survey