There are three main areas in which consideration of parenting programmes are of forensic interest. These are firstly in the area of child protection, where a parent has been found to be responsible for the neglect or abuse of a child; secondly where the child has offended and failures in parenting are seen to have contributed to the child's problems; and thirdly as part of an assessment of parenting, which could include the parent's capacity to change. Parenting programmes define what makes an effective parenting intervention. The role of parenting programmes alone in the treatment of delinquency is less clear than the implementation of programmes that work with the child or young person as well as the family, school and community systems that surround him or her. Group settings have been found to be congenial for parents, though not necessarily more effective in achieving a positive outcome for children.