'Wrong parents' and 'right parents': shared perspectives about citizen participation in policy implementation

Government policies, both in Europe and the U.S., increasingly mandate that community-based citizens partner with professionals to plan and implement policy-relevant programs. In the U.S., parents of children with serious emotional disturbances may participate in Community Collaboratives which are charged with implementing children's mental health policy in local communities. This qualitative study examined three Community Collaboratives and identified organizational features associated with how the groups prioritized lay involvement, among other competing goals which they legitimately could pursue. Thirty-four key informants participated in in-depth interviews. Although the overall study identified several factors which permitted greater and lesser degrees of family involvement, this paper reports on one: the symbolic meaning shared by members about lay participation in their shared perspectives about "wrong parents" and "right parents." Furthermore, two alternate types of "right parents" identified a psychologized version of parents as consumers, and a civic vision of parents as partners. Results from this study are applicable to a wide array of lay-professional partnerships. This study suggests that in order to foster lay-professional partnerships in policy initiatives, lay participants must possess additional, civic-based skills, beyond those needed in the service delivery arena. Furthermore, organizational and professional change may be required to address professional dominance. Within mental health, lack of acceptance of nationally touted recovery-based models is a significant barrier. Finally, sociological implications of developing a civic-based framework for lay-professional partnerships are discussed.