United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Having children is an exciting and all-rounded job and not always easy. Children grow up in different forms of families – with a single mom or dad, in a classical nuclear family or in a "blended family". Because of changes in the world of work as well as the change of role models parents would like to have more information and more networking. "Education for parents" should help people, who are living together with children (mothers, fathers and grandparents), to raise their children.

The Federal State Government of Upper Austria would like to support families as best as possible. Parents can refresh their knowledge in courses, workshops, lectures and discussions dealing with this subject and where they can get information on the different development phases of children (childbirth, baby, school age, adolescence), how to handle difficulties with their children and they have the possibility to exchange experiences and discuss problems.
There are events about the relationship between man and woman too.

These measures are important and preventive elements: not only to repair the relationship between children and parents – also to do something for your family in advance.

2005, the project was especially initiated for poor families with problems. Poor families often don't have the possibility for further education and the coupons for the education for parents should encourage them to make use of this offer.

Since September 2009, families with children aged under 15, who have the "Upper Austrian Family Card" (~ 160.000 families), get coupons for the education for parents to the amount of 20 Euros (per child).
Families who file an application for the "Upper Austrian Family Card" as well as for the 3rd, 6th and 10th birthday of a child, get coupons to the amount of 20 Euros.
In courses, workshops, lectures and discussions dealing with the education for parents these coupons can be converted.

Current courses, workshops, etc. can be found on the website of the Department for family affairs www.familienkarte.at and in the "OÖ Familienjournal" which is published five times a year.

As a special service a newsletter service has been established in August 2010. It ensures that parents receive a monthly update on parent education offerings in their respective regions. The group of recipients of this newsletter continues to grow. Since the beginning of this service (October 2010), 2500 subscribers have registered.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Families with children aged under 15, who have the "Upper Austrian Family Card" (~ 160.000 families), get coupons for the education for parents to the amount of 20 Euro. Parents can refresh their knowledge in courses, workshops, lectures and discussions dealing with this subject and where they can get information on the different development phases of children (childbirth, baby, school age, adolescence), how to handle difficulties with their children and they have the possibility to exchange experiences and discuss problems. There are events about the relationship between man and woman too. These measures are important and preventive elements: not only repairing the relationship between children and parents – also to do something for your family in advance. "Education for parents" should help people, who are living together with children (mothers, fathers and grandparents), to raise their children. Families who do not have to do something with education for parents, are encouraged by the coupons to make use of this offer. The organizations which offer education for parents have to register and therefore we have a good overview of the different courses and workshops, etc. Because of the coupons, there are more courses and workshops dealing with this theme. Furthermore, more parents attend these courses and workshops. 2009 a survey showed that education for parents is in demand. In 2008, more than 15.000 coupons were converted and in 2009 (as at November 30th), more than 32.000 coupons were converted and in 2010 about 52.000 coupons.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
Franz Hiesl, member of the provincial government of Upper Austria, suggested and initiated this project, which is supported by the Upper Austrian Family Centers, "SPIEGEL-meeting points", family organizations and numerous private initiatives. The supporters of the workshops, courses, etc. discount the participation fee after the event with the Federal State Government of Upper Austria. In Upper Austria there are more than 100 "family centers" - contact and information points for parents – which are sponsored by organizations such as "Kinderfreunde" or the Austrian "Familienbund". Parents have the possibility to meet other parents and to engage different offers of "education for parents". Another network is the "SPIEGEL-meeting points" (games – groups – education for parents). They offer education for parents with children aged 0 – 3 years. The groups are initiated and supervised by mothers, who have an appropriate training.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
2005, the project was especially initiated for families with lower income. They very often don't have the possibility to attend courses and the coupons for the education for parents should encourage them to make use of this offer. Since September 2009, all families with children aged under 15, who have the "Upper Austrian Family Card" (~ 160.000 families), get coupons for the education for parents. After the application for the “Upper Austrian Family Card", coupons to the amount of 20 Euros are given to each family, as well as for the 3rd, 6th and 10th birthday of a child. In courses, workshops, lectures and discussions dealing with the education for parents these coupons can be converted.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Parents as well as the organizations, which offer education for parents, were interviewed. 2009 a survey showed that education for parents is in demand. In 2008, more than 15.000 coupons were converted. In 2009, more than 32.000 coupons were converted and in 2010 about 52.000 coupons. From 2005 to 2009, poor families with 4 to 6 year old children were the target group (in cohesion with a sponsorship for child care called "OÖ Kinderbetreuungsbonus"). In September 2009 this was expanded: families with children aged under 15, who have the "Upper Austrian Family Card" (~ 160.000 families), get coupons for the education for parents to the amount of 20 Euros. With this change, more parents get the coupons for the education for parents. Furthermore, there is a steady rise in the offer of education for parents. In 2005 about 600 courses were offered and in 2009, about 4.800 different courses were offered. In the year 2010 the online system of the Upper Austrian Family Card offers more than 8,000 parent education courses.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Sometimes it is not easy to separate the workshops, courses, etc. – what event can be counted as "education"? Courses are offered by facilites such as parent-child centers, the “Schul- und Erziehungszentrum”, the “Katholisches Bildungswerk”, parent associations of schools and kindergartens. These organization are allowed to offer their courses online at the homepage www.familienkarte.at. To avoid that substandard courses are offered, only professional speakers are hired by these organizations for the holding of courses. The organizations can contact a staff member (Hotline) or the staff member contacts the organizations to clarify which courses and workshops can be considered.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
- High quality coupons were printed (safety criteria – the coupons are used as cash) - Technical solution: online application on www.familienkarte.at = online promotion - Current courses, workshops, etc. can be found on the website of the Department for family affairs www.familienkarte.at and in the "OÖ Familienjournal" which is published five times a year.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The regional organizations, which offer education for parents, are very successful and the success motivates them to offer more education for parents. A relief for providers is the online billing of the coupons, which will be possible in january of 2011. The partners of the Upper Austrian Family Card are equipped with hand-held scanners, so that the can scan the EAN code on the vouchers. Thus, the vouchers are devaluated and the payment process is settled. The organizations need not send the coupons back to the responsible Department anymore. In this way, administrative costs are low for both sides. In addition, a complete evaluation of the resources is possible. Other Austrian provinces are already interested in this topic. On November 25, 2009, the System was presented in Wiesbaden, Hessen (Germany) and in December 2010 the Department of the Upper Austrian Family Card was awarded with the “Publicus 2010”, an award for public administration in the category “Steigerung der Bürgerorientierung

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Because of the coupons, there are more courses and workshops dealing with this theme. Furthermore, more parents attend these courses and workshops. 2009 a survey showed that education for parents is in demand. In 2008, more than 15.000 coupons were converted and in 2009, more than 32.000 coupons were converted and in 2010 about 52.000 Coupons. Furthermore, there is a steady rise in the offer of education for parents.


Institution Name:		Federal State Government of Upper Austria
Institution Type:		Public Organization
Contact Person:		Franz Schützeneder
Title:		Head of the Department for family affairs
Telephone/ Fax:		0043/732/7720-11830
Institution's / Project's Website:		0043/732/7720-211639
E-mail:		andrea.leutgeb@ooe.gv.at
Address:		Bahnhofplatz 1
Postal Code:		4021
City:		Linz
State/Province:		Upper Austria
Country:		Austria

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information