Conference ‘Tools of supporting family – good practice
The conference of 19th April 2013 in Warsaw, was dedicated to realization of supporting family action, on the level of commune government based on resolution about supporting family and system of substitute custody.
The aim of the conference organized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy was the presentation of supporting family systems built by each commune governments and the role of non-governmental organizations, as well as creating platform which enables to exchange experiences in this field.
In March this year Kowala commune was invited to take part in the conference playing the role of speaker who shares with previous experiences about work with family and creation of commune system of supporting family. The presentation of the Local Social Welfare Centre in Kowala and 18 other ones were chosen from 120 which were sent from the whole Poland, which show high level of work and realization of a new resolution about supporting family and system of substitute custody.
14 rural and city communes such as: Kowala commune, Bialystok, Stalowa Wola, District Wola of Warsaw City, Suchy Dąb commune, Łapy commune, Lewin Brzeski commune, Sępólno Krajeńskie commune, Chranów town, Gdynia, Goleniów, Bydgoszcz, Ełk, Gliwice and 4 non-governmental organizations such as SOS Children's Villages, the association Group of Pedagogy and Social Animation Praga North ( GPAS), Caritas of Warsaw-Praga diocese, and The Nobody's Children Foundation presented their work. ‘This year Ministry of Labour and Social Policy for realisation of the resolution about supporting family and system of substitute custody gives 92 million PLN’ - said Elżbieta Seredyn while opening the conference. She ads ‘first edition of ‘Departamental programme of supporting family and system of substitute custody for 2013’ was solved. As the result 40 million PLN was given to employ family assistants and 8 million PLN to employ coordinators of family substitute custody.
Minister Seredyn also mentioned about data concerning previous effects of realization of the resolution: in 2012 in Poland there were 2105 family assistants, 1357 commune units of daily support and 138 district ones. For employing assistants the Ministry gave17.5 million PLN, and other actions of resolution such as increasing standards in units and providing children in foster families or current running of units of daily support.
Magdalena Kochan, vice chairman of Senate Commission of Family and Social Policy, who was present at the conference emphasized the main aim of the resolution, which is keeping the biggest number of children in biological families without placing them in different forms of substitute custody.
The essence of solutions in the resolution of 9th June 2011 about supporting family and system of substitute custody is to create coherent system of child`s care and care of family bringing up this child, if it has any difficulties in playing appropriate functions, mainly care providing- educational in nature. Actions taken within this system have to ensure such help for the family, just to eliminate danger of taking a child from the family and to ensure fast child`s come back to the family, who because of his good, for a period of time had to be placed beyond his family. An important role in taking actions was given to family assistant, supporting families and units of daily support. Family assistant is responsible for elaborating and realization of a plan of work with family, giving help to families to improve their life situation and solving problems: social, psychological, educational. The role of units of daily support is to ensure children care, help in learning, organization of free time, games, sport activities and development of their interests. Totally new tool of supporting families, which are from the closest environment of the child and support biological family in care and education.
Most of the communes presenting their work, have started to introduce family assistant before the resolution, it means before 1st January 2012, that is why presentation of such experiences was very rich and full of thoughts and specific solutions. As it was shown, it was a conclusion of not annual but at least of 4-year work with family with the use of different supporting tools including family assistant.
