Parentline is a confidential telephone service providing professional counselling, education and support to parents and others who care for children and young people. The service operates from 8am to 10pm seven days a week and is available to residents of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

The service provides a mix of assistance through counselling, information and referral that is tailored to meet individual client needs. Callers to Parentline can choose to speak with a male or female counsellor and arrange to speak with the same counsellor in the future.

BoysTown is committed to ensuring that all services meet client needs and are evidence-based in their practice. In line with this, a survey of client satisfaction and outcomes regarding Parentline is conducted on an annual basis. The purpose of the survey is to assess the overall effectiveness of and satisfaction with the service. In addition, the survey measures the perceptions of parents regarding Parentline’s assistance with specific areas of parenting effectiveness, such as:

• Parenting confidence

• Parenting strategies and skills

• Relationship with child/children

• Understanding child/children

• Capacity to cope

• Ability to care for child/children.

These parental/family factors are common protective factors that may guard against child abuse and neglect. Each year the results are part of a feedback loop to Parentline management and service delivery staff. This report focuses on the results of the client satisfaction and outcomes survey over a four your period from 2011 to 2014.