The current project has been designed as a continuation of the work of the Center for Rehabilitation, Counseling and Psychotherapy with children and families at risk. The long-standing cooperation between the team of Animus Association Foundation and the Child Protection Departments in the city of Sofia demonstrated that a large number of the difficult and delayed cases enter the Child Protection System rather late, thus decreasing the possibilities for help and life change for the children and their family environment. For this reason, the concept behind the current project was to mobilize and develop the resources in the community for early and active intervention in the cases of at-risk children. Part of the project activities were directed towards the school environment in which children spend the larger part of their time and where problematic behavior is usually exhibited early. The development of sensitivity towards the problems of children and the proper evaluation of their needs for help were the fundaments on which the process of strengthening the capacity of the school community to act in cases of behavioral problems was based.
The “Comprehensive Service Program for At-risk Children and Adolescents” launched in 2009. Since the very beginning of the project, the team has spent enormous effort to attracts the institutions involved in the work with at-risk children in the capacity of supporters without they officially being parents, in order to reach a maximum scope of the activities provided under the project. The Department of Education and the Directorate of Prevention, Integration, Sport and Tourism under the Sofia Municipality both took active part in the activities related to educational institutions. The Social Assistance Agency and its structures – the Child Protection Departments – also greatly contributed to the realization of the project by making consultation and therapeutic referrals for children.
There were two specific objectives of the project:
- Development of the community’s capacity to support children and adolescents at risk as well as introduction of a multidisciplinary approach
- Strengthening the capacity of the Centre for Rehabilitation, Counseling and Psychotherapy to provide accessible and high-quality programs to children and adolescents at risk.
As part of the first objective, four trainings for pedagogical counselors from the city of Sofia were implemented. A grand total of 105 professionals took part in the trainings, thus exceeding the number of 88 that was originally expected. Thirty lecture discussions on the topic of human trafficking were delivered. A Volunteer Club, which received training, was founded and later proved successful in the application of the newly acquired knowledge.
The second objective – development and provision of services for at-risk children – received simultaneous attention. The team of the Center for Rehabilitation, Counseling and Psychotherapy developed their skills through 10 reading seminars, a two-day training provided by the partners Organisasjonen Voksne for Barn, Norway, a workshop visit and an experience exchange in Norway, as well as through discussions of cases and regular group supervisions and team conventions. The increased capacity ensured the provision of better and more effective services. A total of 147 parents and 132 children and adolescents participated in the project. Apart from this, 129 clients consulted with professionals in a correspondence program.
The implementation of the project allowed and earlier intervention and assistance to children with serious behavioral problems and destructive symptoms prior to the symptoms becoming severe and irreversible. The trained pedagogical counselors started to provide psychological support and make referrals so that the children and their parents could receive timely assistance in the overcoming of problems before they have reached the Child Protection Departments. This is an innovative practice since the conducted research shows that the educational and health systems in Bulgaria either do not distinguish or delay in identifying the cases of at-risk children, thus leading to late and ineffective interventions. Within the scope of the project, the multidisciplinary work on cases of children at risk improved, which coincided with the official adoption of the “Coordinating Mechanism for Work with Child Victims of Violence” by all bodies involved in child protection in the country. Real-life changes took place in the living circumstances of 112 parents and … children.
Contact information:
Animus Association Foundation
85, Ekzarh Yossif Str.
1000 Sofia
Bulgaria
(+3592)9835205, 9835305, 9835405
[Nominate]
back