According to the Municipal Welfare Social Center’s data, 1,452 children were staying in the foster custody system in Cracow in 2012. Families in which it came to a withdrawal of parental responsibility face various emotional and communication problems. The bond between the parents and the children is significantly weakened. The “inherited” violence, helplessness and addictions come to surface. Rebuilding the bond and improving the parents’ competences are crucial elements in the process of reintegration.
The goal of the project was to counteract social exclusion through assisting the parents, whose children had been placed in foster custody in acquiring child care skills and through supporting the parents in the process of returning custody of the children to them.
In 7 families taking part in the Project, a formal change in the custody system or the way of contacts with the children took place: 4 children from 2 families have returned to their homes, 3 children from 3 families were allowed to spend free from school time at their family homes by court.
On regular basis, work with the families was provided: through the method of individual case management (once every 2 weeks), family meetings of a therapeutic character (once every 2 weeks), cyclical workshops: psycho- educational (23 meetings, in total 72 hours, 12 participants), with a program Schools for Parents and Educators (3 x 8 hours, 10 participants), 2 three-day trips of a therapeutic character (23 participants), integration culinary classes for families (2 x 4 hours, 30 participants), legal advice (11 hours for 4 families), monitored meetings of the families with the children in the Safe Meeting Place (1 family x 9, in total 13.5 hours).
10 Cracow families, whose children had been placed in foster custody benefited from the project’s activities.