ACCOMPANYING FAMILIES – an ALTERNATIVE to REMOVING CHILDREN from HOME

 

This project was a psychosocial programme for high risk families with children from 3 to 15 years of age. It is the oldest STREP´s activity. It was realized in the years 1998-2006. Since 2007, its activities have been realizing in the scope of the project Social Activation Services for Families with Children in accordance with the Social Services Act.

WHY

STREP responded to the absence of helping programmes focussed on prevention of removing children from 4 to 15 years of age from their families and placing them in institutional care or on help leading to their safe return home.

FOR WHOM

This programme was intended for the target group of parents of endangered children from 4 to 15 years of age living in families or in institutional care who suffered from various degrees of child neglect.

HOW

The main tool of this programme was work on the improvement of the family environment – services provided by a multidisciplinary team focussed directly on the causes of social failure of children and their families and their solving.

The aims of the programme:

  • The lowest possible number of children taken away from their families into institutional care.
  • The lowest possible number of children living in institutional care.
  • The shortest possible length of children´s stay in institutional care.
  • The highest possible number of children returning from institutional care to their family or an environment as similar as possible to a family.
  • Prevention of neglect of children in families.

Basic points of cooperation with the family:

  • Parenting skills and behaviour training and support.
  • Improvement in social conditions of the family.
  • Reducing the level of neglect of children in families.
  • Preventing the children being taken away from the family for social reasons.
  • Return of the child from an institutional care facility to the family.
  • Reducing the risk of child neglect in the future.

Areas of help for families:

  • Assistance to acquire valid documents.
  • Counselling and training of the skills necessary for conflict-free dealings at state offices.
  • Counselling and assistance to deal with housing problems.
  • The acquisition of the skills necessary to run a household.
  • Development of social skills and communication within the family.
  • Practice in positive communication between parents and between parents and children.
  • Sharing out attention among children.
  • Constructive solutions to conflict situations.
  • Socio-pedagogical guidance of family members