Description
It is common not for the voice of children to be heard in situations that influence their lives. One of the reason for this is rooted in the unpreparedness to do so among people that work with children. The project focuses on making the voice of children in foster care heard. This will be done through the training of social workers from organizations in the process of fulfilling foster care agreements, and through a subsequent dialogue among the workers and clients - i.e. with children in foster care and with the foster parents - on the rights of the children and on methods of communication and exercising. The project will address these challenges by: (1) methods to establish the child´s opinions and communication with the child; (2) pilot testing of the methodology; and (3) courses for the professional public (25). The target groups are approx.1615 workers/ 95 NGOs that will benefit from these outputs. J&T Endowment Fund is the most well-known NGO in the area of foster care and care for vulnerable children. A bond between the target group and project promoter will be created. The partnership will contribute to the successful achievement of the project´s goals. The aim of additional activities (approved in June 2016) work with examples of good practice obtained in framework of bilateral cooperation “Norwegian – Czech sharing experiences about foster care and care of vulnerable children”. The additional activities include 3 related sub-activities: (1) transfer of good practice, (2) educational aids, (3) camps “Voices among voices”.
Summary of project results
The non - governmental report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child from 2010 shows that the right of the child to express their opinion is not commonplace in the Czech republic and the people involved do not feel competent and sufficiently prepared for a sensitive conversation with a child. Respectively, children in foster care are not aware of their rights. To improve the situation, an adapted methodology Voices of Children in Foster Care and How to Listen toThem for communication with children in foster care was created and based on the methodology a workshop was prepared that was later accredited by Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. In addition to it, Collection of Best Practice Examples and a new methodology Three Steps towards Independent Life: Guide to Social Work and Communication with Adolescents in Foster Care were also published. On March 30, 2016 a conference Foster Care in the Czech Republic and New Trends was organized for the professional public. During the course, 294 participants attended 28 courses where 1034 children from foster care were involved. The participants talked with the children about their rights. As a part of additional activities, a methodology of self-help groups was created together with materials for trainees. 332 foster parents were trained in the topic of self- groups. Various didactic tools (e.g. coloring books, a memory game, a puzzle, game “What happened next” etc.) were made for different age groups with the topic of children´s rights in foster care. The aim is both raising awareness and making the communication with children easier. The concept of the tools is presented in a methodology Minimum of Children´s Rights in Foster Care. 10 short video spots were made presenting rights of children in foster care. For early adolescent a comic book, booklet and a poster, all with the topic of rights in foster care were created. 10 workshops – camps for children were organized, where by means of art activities children were informed about their rights while foster parents were trained in the topic of self-help groups. The whole project was closed by a theatre performance and an opening of an exhibition of works of children participating in the workshops. The project helped to make progress in the topic of children´s rights in foster care, educated the professional public, children and foster parents and enabled professionals to cooperate on high quality outcomes of the project.
Summary of bilateral results