Description
Children in institutional care face serious problems concerning building and nurturing relationships with other people (disorder attachment) moreover they have difficulties to trust themselves and others, to integrate into a team and later on society (especially concerns Roma children). Within the project, social workers of Amalthea together with workers of Departments of socio-legal protection of children will evaluate difficult family situation and needs of a child (supported by the methodology of partner Lumos). Parents will be supported in following areas: accommodation, work, debt management, conflict resolution and communication with a school, so that children can stay in the family. If a child is already placed in a foster family, the support will be focused on establishing safe relationship between the child and the foster parent and strengthening the child’s identity. The aim of the project is to ensure better welfare of children whose psychosocial development is at risk.
Summary of project results
Already even among experts the consensus, that the child is the best in the family - their own or substitute, is growing. The project focused on families, where children are somehow threatened - parents insufficiently satisfy the needs of the child, or the child is placed from his own family to spare family. The strategic objective of the project was to increase the satisfaction of children in these families and prevent their placement in institutional care. In total, we supported 137 children, 62 in the spare families and 75 in biological families. We have helped the particular children to increase their satisfaction in the families and also the chance of success in adult independent life without dependence on social services. Our aim was to call attention to the need for timely provision of services for vulnerable families with children – in the moment when there still is a possibility to change the situation and the problems are not accumulated and thereby minimizing the risk of placement a child outside of the family. The improvement of social work in families - Thanks to the activities of the project, there has been a greater focus on the areas of the assessment of the child situation, on promoting the relationship links and the identity of the child. Workers will pass their experience on – in educational seminars, working with students, meeting with colleagues. Establish and maintain cooperation in the region - regular meeting of the services in our region has a positive impact on coordination, cooperation, not only in relation to each of the families. In the area of the SPOD or SAS, the republican platform is missing, that would these topics intensely focused. Thanks to the project we managed to create one at least at the regional level.
Summary of bilateral results