Learning to Work with Orphans and Vulnerable Children

A Project of the Social Work HIV/AIDS Partnership for Orphans

and Vulnerable Children in Tanzania

Day 9Parenting, Supporting Families,

Community Re-entry

ParentingSupporting FamiliesCommunity Re-entry

Sources:Henggeler, Scott W. et all (1998). Multi-systemic treatment of antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. New York: Guildford Press.

Mattaini, Mark. (1999). Clinical Intervention with families. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

ObjectivesAt the end of this day, Para Social Workers will be able to:

• Demonstrate necessary skills and information for parenting

• Demonstrate different parenting styles and ways to support caregivers and families with Most Vulnerable Children

• Outline different activities as stipulated in the work guide

• Explain how to work with other community resources to advocate for Most Vulnerable Children interventions and services

Parenting

Parenting

• We have seen that the growth and development of children is best promoted within a family setting

• Providing family settings for Orphans and Vulnerable Children often means that care-giving families must be supported in their new roles

• If these families are to be successful, they need information and support in effective parenting strategies, especially in parenting children not born to them

Parenting

• Therefore, we are going to address parenting skills

• This information applies to parenting all children – those born to the parent as well as children coming into the home after the loss of a parent

• The information is especially useful in parenting children not born to the caregiver

Two Dimensions of Parenting:finding the right balance

WarmthControl

Warmth• Warmth refers to verbal and nonverbal behaviors

that are emotional in tone• This includes expressions of affection, acceptance,

approval of the child

• The emotional tone a parent communicates to a child may range from warmth to rejection

• Warm parents are: • Relatively accepting• Nurturing• Use frequent positive reinforcement

Absence of Warmth

Children who experience low levels of positive affection and high levels of negative affection

are at risk for:

• Interpersonal and behavioral difficulties• Difficulty trusting• Difficulty responding positively• Difficulty developing empathy for others

Control• Control refers to actions the parent takes to

provide guidance, structure, discipline to the child

• Teaches frustration tolerance

• Teaches socially acceptable norms of behavior• Cooperation with others• Avoidance of aggression• Respect for authority

Absence of Appropriate Control

Children who experience harsh control strategies, inconsistent discipline, and/or lack

of monitoring are at high risk for:

• behavior problems • delinquency • drug use

Types of ParentingHIGH W A R M T H LOW

CONTROL

AUTHORITATIVE PARENTING

HARSH PARENTING

PERMISSIVE PARENTING

NEGLECTFUL PARENTING

LOW

Parenting Styles

Research has shown that the parenting style that achieves the best results in terms of outcomes

for children is the authoritative style

Authoritative parents maintain: • high levels of warmth in their relationships with

their children (affection, acceptance, approval)• high levels of appropriate control (guidance,

structure, monitoring of the child’s behavior)

Authoritative Parenting Practices

Communication: • listening to your child• communicating clearly with your child

Pro-social Involvement: • play with your child • engage the child in positive activities with peers,

etc.

Authoritative Parenting Practices

• Clarity of instructions and consequences• Expected behavior defined clearly• Stated in terms of positive behaviors• Privilege given or withheld when rule is broken

or kept stated with rule• Posted in public place in home

Authoritative Parenting Practices

• Consequences: rewards and punishments• Privilege must be highly desirable by child• Younger the child – the more frequently the

desired behavior must be rewarded• For youth of all ages, to see that good

behavior pays off the desired behavior must be rewarded frequently

• Privilege must be tied to a specifically stated rule about behavior that is desired

Authoritative Parenting Practices• Reinforcement: the most basic law of behavior is

that people do what works for them. Therefore, rules must be:• Enforced 100% of time• Enforced in unemotional manner• Privileges dispensed or withheld every time child

complies with or breaks the rule• Praise accompany privilege• Mutually agreed upon by parents

Authoritative Parenting Practices• Pinpointing: being clear about desirable and

undesirable behaviors, especially those the parent wishes to change

• Record Keeping: while it is not necessary to keep track of everything, when a particular behavior has been pinpointed to increase or decrease, record keeping can be essential• Common strategies include posting the behavior in the

home and awarding a smiling face or star every time the child performs the expected behavior

Authoritative Parenting Practices

• Give up highly coercive discipline:• Corporal punishment• Deprivation of food• Confinement

• Parental monitoring – keeping track of your child’s whereabouts, activities, behaviors

• Advocacy – interacting with other to assure your child’s needs are met and rights are respected

Three Most Powerful Positive Parenting Practices

• Pro-social involvement (playing with your children and involving them in positive activities)

• Clarity of instructions and consequences• Reinforcement (following through on what you

say)

Working with families in parenting

• While engaging families, consider:• Parenting style • Risk factors• Protective factors • Promoting healthy parenting styles • Providing support

Building a Base of Support for Caregivers

Increasing numbers of people living with HIV

Increased numbers of Orphans & Vulnerable Children

Increasing need for help and support

Increasing reliance on caregivers

The Caregiving Future Challenge

Caregivers Often

• Focus on the care receiver to the exclusion of their own needs

• Neglect their own health• Do not use supports or services

Caregivers Often

• Have unresolved grief and loss issues• Are motivated by their spirituality to sustain care

giving• Provide care in complex family situations

Caregivers are affected by

• Their own health (including HIV status)• The care situation• The needs and losses of the care receivers• Grief and mourning related to their families,

friends and clients

Caregiver responses

• Fulfilling the role of caregiver• New meaning in life• Stress and feeling overwhelmed• Depression• Anger/ Resentment• Health changes due to care demands

Coping

• Dealing with and overcoming • stress• problems• difficulties

Coping may vary by:

• Culture• Spirituality/

religion• Community

• Family• Personal background • Past experiences

Ways to Support Caregivers

• Listening and problem solving

• Linkage to resources

• Use of local government leaders

• Education, Information and Training Courses and Workshops

Ways to Support Caregivers

• Support Groups• Family or Community Meetings • Recognition• Help provide resources for children and families

(food, housing, medical, etc.)

Ways to support caregivers continued

• Resource mobilization • Identify individuals willing to support and link

them with caregivers (short term/long term support)

• Family level• Family assets e.g farm, land, livestock, • Family networks including relatives, friends,

neighbours

• Community level• CSOs, FBOs, Community funds, Support groups,

LGAs

How Can a Para Social Worker Support HIV Positive Families?

• Provide reliable, consistent care and support• Shift the family’s focus from hopelessness to

strengths and hope• Provide ongoing support and access to medical,

psychological and social support systems• Combat marginalization and social exclusion by

assuring families are connected to positive systems of support

• Within the family• Within the community• Within the larger society

• Provide accurate information about HIV and its context for infected and affected people, their families and their communities

Small Group Skills Building WorkshopSupporting OVCs and their Families

• Appoint a recorder to report for RECAP• Discussion of parenting issues and caregiver

support in a case—what are issues• Work in mini-groups to develop an overall plan of

service and support to this case and family using all of the skills we’ve discussed• Assign roles as para social worker, child or

family/neighbors • Role play a session to practice providing support

to the child and family members• Discuss with whole group what did you learn

Post- Assessment

What Next: Community Entry

What Next?

• Community entry – Meeting with village leaders and debrief on

Para Social Workers’ roles and responsibilities

– Supervision – Tools – Networking and advocacy

• Remaining Motivated • Other sources of supervision

What next continued

• Participants to divide themselves according to their wards and discuss the following:• Supervision:

• How do you plan to work with your supervisor?

• What will be/is your reporting system?• If you do not have a supervisor how do you

plan to make use of existing systems?• Develop action plan

What next? Cont.• Tools

• How do you plan to make use of service plan and reporting forms

• What challenges do you anticipate and how will you address them?

• Work guide

• Networking and Advocacy • What networks do you plan to make use of in

your ward?• How will you advocate for services for children

and their families?

Work Guide

• Outreach and update/identify Most Vulnerable Children in collaboration with Most Vulnerable Children Committee members

• Engage Most Vulnerable Children, families and service providers

• Assess strengths and needs and provide support• Develop and maintain a service plan• Network with other social partners at community

level and refer Most Vulnerable Children to other resources

Work Guide• Deliver basic social welfare services to Most

Vulnerable Children, including psychosocial care and support to Most Vulnerable Children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS

• Including case management and case conference• Identify resources: Produce a list of resources • Collect and document information/data regarding

Most Vulnerable Children and to share with the local leadership

• Actively participate in Most Vulnerable Children Committee activities/meetings

Work Guide• Engage in raising community awareness on child

rights, law of the child, child development policy and other related policies

• To mobilize their community at different levels, and to start and manage their own community Most Vulnerable Children funds and other resources

• Attend supervision sessions and maintain regular contact with supervisor and village authorities

• Work within the existing village government system

Feedback on the Training

Closing Ceremony