Advice on uninvolved parents

Rant - Advice wanted :snoo_scream:

Hi everyone, this is my first year working as a school counselor (I graduated last year), and I am currently working at an adult vocational school. I am hoping to get some advice regarding students whose parents or caregivers are barely involved in their child's education and therapy.

I currently have two students on my caseload in this situation. One is a minor who is struggling with severe phone addiction. The other is an adult student on the autism spectrum who also struggles with excessive tech use, as well as anger management and ADHD.

I set weekly goals with both of them and make an effort to keep parents informed so they can reinforce strategies at home. However, I often find that these goals are not reinforced consistently at home. I get it because these parents are overwhelmed by other responsibilities, having a full-time job, single parenting, or taking care of other siblings. Today, I learned that one parent was "lying" that they had been implementing the goals at home, but actually wasn't after consulting their nurse and teacher. After I brought up some concerns, the conversation became tense, and the parent raised her voice and yelled at me. I am assuming it all came from feelings of guilt, shame, or frustration involved, but ngl I was hurt...It also made me question because I have been wanting to work with students, especially elementary school, but I hear horror stories about working with parents.

Anyways, I am wondering how to navigate situations where caregiver involvement is limited or inconsistent. How do you balance maintaining a good rapport with the parents while reinforcing these behavioral intervention goals at home? I would appreciate any advice or perspectives.

Posted Jun 4, 2026, 12:52 AM UTC

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