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….:)

Questions?

Thank You!

j.vandermeer@opvang.nl