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Description
Project aims to support building a healthy identity for children aged 0-6 growing up in foster families or families excluded from the mainstream. Every child has the right to know their true-life story (where they came from, how they came into the world). The risk factors for vulnerable children during their identity development is: the lack of parental competencies, insufficient support for parents especially the lack of specific educational tools for modern healthy childrearing, insufficient support for families with specific needs in the field of vulnerable children’s healthy mental development.
By giving intensive support, training and networking to organizations helping (foster, unconventional, alternative) parents who are responsible for childrearing, we aim to empower vulnerable children to actively promote their right to self-determination, build their healthy identity and better prepare for adulthood.
The main target group are civil society organizations and vulnerable families (especially foster, incomplete and homoparental), for which it is necessary to support the environment and competences for building a healthy children''s identity.
Project outcomes are:
- Interdisciplinary network for sharing experiences, views and recommendations for all working with vulnerable children
- Extension of know-how and professionalization of NGOs regarding the new method of working with vulnerable families, training the participating organizations in the new method’s implementation, especially those that are as close as possible to vulnerable families and children
- Motivation and strengthening parental competencies in vulnerable families by piloting the newly created method
- Raising awareness of the professional public in the field of building a healthy identity of children
Summary of project results
The central idea of the project is based on the focus and experiences of the LA VIDA LOCA Foundation. This non-profit organization has long been dedicated to working with children who are abandoned shortly after birth or taken away from their biological families. With the aim of supporting the healthy development of these and other disadvantaged children (living outside the mainstream society), the foundation decided to support the competencies of organizations, their employees, and volunteers within a network of collaborating non-profit organizations, schools, and maternity hospitals, who have or may have an impact on the healthy development of (not only) disadvantaged children.
In the project, we addressed the lack of support and resources for children in at-risk and disadvantaged families, with the goal of reducing the risk of negative psychological and/or physical consequences (related to the child''s identity) on their psychosocial development. The specific experiences and life situations that disadvantaged children go through and are confronted with can significantly influence how the child perceives themselves, experiences who they are, and their self-esteem.
In the context of disadvantaged families, it is not their biological families that can positively influence or guide them in this regard. Disadvantaged children and families have other organizations and individuals around them who can actively and positively work with them. These may include foster parents, substitute or adoptive families, educators, leisure activity instructors, workers from various non-profit organizations, psychologists, or healthcare workers working with children. The preparation and implementation of the motivational-educational program, based on the method of working with life stories, were aimed at these target groups.
We faced several challenges in implementing the project. One of them was the sectoral/opinion fragmentation in the care of at-risk children and the insufficient attention paid to the issue of building children''s identities. Therefore, at the beginning of the project, we established and created a network of collaborating organizations that jointly contribute to the prevention of healthy development of disadvantaged children and address the specific needs of children and families.
Another challenge was supporting the missing competencies in working with children''s life stories. To bring the project''s idea directly to disadvantaged children, we needed to motivate and educate the aforementioned "caregivers," as well as biological parents.
Lastly, but not least, was the challenge of testing in practice whether our innovative method would work. This was verified through the pilot implementation of the life story method on children from disadvantaged backgrounds and with the help of a network of volunteers.
The aim of the project was to create a collaborative network for the preparation, pilot testing, and implementation of a new method for working with the life stories of disadvantaged children—actively promoting their right to self-determination and strengthening their positive identity. By the project''s end date, the network comprised a total of 21 organizations (non-profits and schools) that will continue their collaboration. The collaborative network remains open to new members to further spread the idea of the necessity for healthy mental development in children.
To support the motivation and increase the competencies of caregivers, parents, non-profit workers, educators, and others involved in working with children, an educational program based on the method of working with life stories was prepared. The core of the educational program consists of a brochure, instructional videos, and a workbook for children. The program and materials were designed to provide the necessary know-how and help improve the professional approach to working with disadvantaged children. A key element was the clarity and practicality of the materials, created with the specific needs of the target group in mind. A total of 300 people participated in the program.
Another activity of the project was pilot testing to see if our innovative method would work in practice. Therefore, we selected 15 children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and with the help of a network of volunteers in the Ústí region, pilot testing of the life story method was conducted. The pilot testing worked with the concept of practically introducing various, including less traditional, professions to disadvantaged children (as an extracurricular activity) with the goal of supporting their motivation to work with their own life stories and pursue their dreams. The pilot testing demonstrated to us that with sufficient support and resources, "caregivers" can significantly contribute to the positive development of children.
The project culminated in a final conference, which not only assessed the achievements but also committed to further strengthening our initiatives and building sustainable support for disadvantaged children.
Organizations involved in working with at-risk children and families have gained valuable know-how, new competencies for working with disadvantaged children, and a new method of work and materials that they can incorporate into their provided services and assistance. By participating in the cooperation network, they have access to the latest knowledge in the field of healthy mental development of children and can share best practices or exchange experiences. This has expanded the range of support available to at-risk families with an innovative method based on the latest findings from various fields working on the topic.
Parents of children from foster, adoptive, and other at-risk families have, through their involvement in the educational program, strengthened their motivation and parenting skills, and gained practical tools and recommendations on how to build a healthy identity for both the children and the parents/adoptive parents themselves.
Children participating in the pilot verification showed improved social integration, increased self-confidence, new friendships, and were enriched with new experiences and knowledge.
Thanks to the activities carried out, we have found that people want to help by actively participating in similar activities. All involved creators and co-creators collaborated on a voluntary basis, without any claim to remuneration.
In the long term, the project''s outputs and results will support the prevention of negative psychological and physical consequences for at-risk children related to their identity. From the trained caregivers and parents, children can receive valuable support in seeking and purposefully fostering a healthy identity and self-confidence.