Description
The project’s aim is to provide social support to foster families and to ensure mentor services for foster families and trustees, as well as to support disadvantaged children and youth in foster care to integrate into the community. The target groups are foster families, children and youth in foster care. The project will be implemented in Riga – at the support center "Dzeguzēni" and "Vecumnieki". The main project activities include development of a handbook for foster families, mentor - support for trustees and foster families, trainings of mentors, support groups for trustees led by the trained mentors, individual consultations to trustees and foster parents, support to children in foster care, creative classes, English language training, individual e-counseling and group counseling, as well as for other types of related activities towards these issues.
Summary of project results
The project was necessary to ensure the popularization and promoting of the knowledge and understanding about the importance of communication in the family. The target groups of the project were Social exclusion and poverty at risk population, including: 36 children, 256 young people, 22 families with children. As well as 23 Limbaži county municipal educators of educational institutions and 9 volunteers. Developed program "Support guardians, foster care," provided 16 training lessons for potential mentors, provided support groups for guardians led by trained mentors, provided individual consultations for guardians and foster families. Children who are in guardianship or in foster care had opportunity to attend creative classes, english classes and receive e-consultations. The book "Happiness is the family" was published, with aim to promote guardianship care as the most appropriate form. The understanding, knowledge and experience on the subject of communication in the family that the participants obtained during the project will be daily used in the everyday life of the participating families.
Summary of bilateral results
Linnea Kompetansesenter (Norway). Cooperation with partners as very positive, as partners in the implementation of the project was in fact higher than the application was planned. Project partner of Norway's participation was provided for the following activities: • Manual "Support guardians and foster families' development (communication in emails, telephone and face to face meetings); • Presentation of the project start-up and final conference on the Norwegian experience in providing support to foster families, especially those families with dependent children is problematic .; • Participation in the mentor training program (2 times); • Participation in the project quality evaluation (both in person and electronically) and ensuring project publicity. In fact, participation took place in all the above activities, plus an additional partners motivated and supported to settle copyright issues, so that we can translate and book include theoretical material "Safe basic model: attraction and vitality promotion of extra-familial care and adoption." As the project partners took part in not 2 but 10 training times, also onsite providing individual consultations. Related costs were borne by the project partner.