resilience: working with children in shelters, everyone counts!
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given by Jantien Van der Meer during the "Prevention of youth homelessness: ensuring smooth transitions into adulthood" seminar at the FEANTSA 2014 Policy Conference, "Confronting homelessness in the EU: Seeking out the next generation of best practices", 24-25 October 2014, Bergamo (Italy)TRANSCRIPT
Resilience Working with children in shelters,
Everyone counts! Ethos Typologies: 3&4
Jantien van der Meer, project manager/policy advisor
Federation of shelters Netherlands – 75 members
- Accommodation for the homeless
- Women’s Shelters
- Supported accommodation
Clients - year (average): 65000
0-23 years: 14000
0 -17 years: 8000
1600 independent
(2013)
Children in Dutch shelters
The families of these children: families@risk
- Vicious circle of violence and poverty (learned behaviour)
- Complex problems in different life spheres
- Often resistant to help
Dutch system of care:
Too many cooks spoil the broth
1st Dutch major study into children ‘Meer dan bed, bad, broodje pindakaas’ 2010, SWP/UMC Radboud Researchers: Brilleslijper-Kater/Beijerbergen/Asmoredjo/Jansen&Wolf 187 interviewed children
The children….. At least 7 serious incidents 31% has a post traumatic stress syndrome 11% is victim of child abuse 50% of the parents have psychological disorders 52% of the parents lack child raising skills …..
Conclusions
1. The right care on the right time 2. The right expertise 3. The right follow up care 4. Improvement of cooperation between all care providers (& more….)
Recommendations of the researchers
What is needed in the care system
Dutch women’s shelters: we will take responsibility for 1 & 2
What the children need according to the researchers
Individual child centred care -Systemic assessment on child abuse -Specialised care has to be available -Support parents with child raising capacities -Work with checklists on how the child is doing -Make a plan with the child… -& more….
Veerkracht! (Resilience)
Development process (1)
- Together with professionals from women’s shelters & experts on Youth care - Subsidized by the Dutch government - Coordinated at national level by the Federation of Shelters
Development process (2)
• Not an expensive method!
• Cultural diversity
• Practice & evidence based
• Started collecting all materials & best practices from women’s shelters
• Mixing with Signs of Safety, Krachtwerk
• Adopting language, useful forms from Youth Care
Development Process (3)
• 1,5 years development, testing, rewriting
• Developing study materials, easy to read
• Verbal and non verbal working forms
• Working with checklists (f.e. SDQ)
• Testing period: 6 months in 3 Woman’s shelters
Implementation
• National training programme
• Assistance on how to implement this method
• Formation of an expert group of trainers Resilience
• Women’s shelters learn from each other (expert meetings)
• Lobby toward (local) government to invest in expertise of social workers (money!)
Resilience
The right help
Individual Child Centred
The right time
Bounce back
Goals Resilience
1. To focus on the parents & family from the child’s perspective 2. To work on the immediate needs to work on the longer term outcome 3. To support the child’s safety development 4. To support the parents 5. To support the family to live a life without violence
Intake
Safety plan
Screening
Child friendly environment in the shelter
Involve the social network of the family
Write down a plan for care…
Work with parents & child
Support parents
Core activities in the primary working process
What effects does Resilience have?
Social workers - the child is seen as a client
working with the fathers
Clients - children have more self esteem
Clients – mothers & fathers have less resistance to help
Woman Shelters developing social entrepreneurship
Further on... -Further development in cooperation with national charity
organizations
-Investigation into the effectiveness (plan-do-check-act)
-Lobby for finance & connections with youth help
-Further development of Resilience into the shelters for homeless
people & sheltered housing (implementing starts January 2015)
- Further development into other fields (my wish….:)