International Parent Advocacy Network

IPAN’s Mission is to work to increase the influence of parents in child welfare decision making by supporting organizations and activities that promote parent advocacy and the influence and power of parents in child welfare throughout the world. IPAN’s work helps ensure that children’s, parents’ and families’ needs are met and that their rights are protected by supporting members to promote and develop parent advocacy in their country/region/locality.

IPAN achieves its mission through these activities:

1.     Sharing lessons learned, examples of good practice and other resources on parental advocacy.

2.     Campaigning to enable parents to have a voice, strengthen the role of parents in child protection systems and to promote parent advocacy.

3.     Publishing on parental advocacy in child protection

4.     Holding conferences and training events

5.     Providing consultation on parental advocacy

IPAN is a parent-led organization working to transform child welfare. More than half of our board of directors are parents with lived child welfare experience.