Mechanisms for Support: A Realist Evaluation of Peer Parental Advocacy in England

International research shows that although parents perceive the child protection system to be stigmatising and authoritarian, peer parental advocacy (PPA) programmes have a positive impact on improving complex relationships between parents and professionals. PPA programmes enable parents with lived experience of child protection processes to support other parents to navigate the system. As an emerging area of policy interest, research investigating the role of PPA in empowering parents to participate meaningfully in decision-making is crucial to developing collaborative approaches within child protection social work. This realist-informed study considered how a newly implemented PPA programme supported parents in two English Local Authorities. Our findings highlight the unique role peer advocates can play as a resource to influence decision-making, power relations and working relationships between professionals and parents. This article presents our final programme theory, which identifies four key mechanisms that support perceived effectiveness in PPA implementation: active engagement, effective communication, facilitating trust and adequate support for advocates. These findings highlight how PPA programmes in these Local Authorities were valued and begin to build a picture of how further advocacy programmes can be explored throughout the UK. This article presents findings from an exploratory study on mechanisms that underpin successful peer advocacy programmes in two English Local Authorities and how parents and professionals perceive them to be making a difference. This article also explores how peer advocates are able to facilitate parents' participation in the decision-making process during child protection conferences. Drawing on empirical data exploring the perceptions of parents, advocates and professionals, this study identifies four key mechanisms that support the effective implementation of peer advocacy programmes in study authorities: active engagement between parents and advocates; the need for open and effective communication; the role of advocates in facilitating trust and the need for appropriate training and support for advocates. These findings emphasise the unique value of peer parental advocates as a resource to support parents throughout the child protection process.