The way from institutions to independent living
The second focus group “Process of deinstitutionalisation and institution’s transformation through strengthening the capacities of key actors and enhancing social services”
Within the project “A way from the institution to the independent life” the seconds focus group “Process of deinstitutionalisation and institution’s transformation through strengthening the capacities of key actors and enhancing social services” was held. This project is carried out in order to strengthen the capacities of key actors of institution’s transformation, deinstitutionalisation and social inclusion of persons with intellectual disability in local community. It is financed by European Union within the project “Open Arm”. The focus group wad held in Institution for Placement of Adults with Disabilities Kulina on November, the 10th 2014. It was attended by expert team and director of the institution, as well as by representatives from HO “Child’s heart.
The ultimate goal of this focus group is to put into operation activities which should lead to institution’s transformation, as well as to define clear social services which could be developed, structured and licensed by the institution. Also, the team was formed to create plan of transformation which will make a schematic representation of transformation and which be available to all employees in the institution in the form of poster/panel. The focus group presented also the plan of future transformation through the representation of social services, as well as the elaboration of ideas on how they could work and what is that which contributes to their development and sustainability. The activities of the focus group were concluded by the story and perception of all attendees about the importance and necessity of the process of transformation. They have also realized that they, as employees in the institution, are the ones to be key actors of that transformation which goal is to improve redistribution of tasks
Strengthening the capacity of social service providers
Within the project “The way from institutions to independent living” two training sessions entitled “Strengthening the capacity of social service providers …” took place. The training sessions were attended by representatives of local authorities and social services in six towns: Vranje, Bela Palanka, Doljevac, Sid, Vrbas and Sremska Mitrovica. The aim of education is to strengthen and give structure to social services, as well as to connect them into a network at the local level.
One of the exercises in the training sessions was the presentation of the participants within the work they do, the social services they provide and the users in their care. This exercise has allowed us to perceive their potential, the capacity of their services and the capabilities of the local community. We found out that in every local community there are at least three social services, professional staff and the plan and program of each service. However, it is evident that the services are not adequately structured, that they have been initiated by the local community, that there is no participation of service users and that there is no services sustainability plan. By raising the level of knowledge that is accompanied by examples of good practice we have been creating the optimal possibilities with the training participants to recognize their own omissions in the work and to establish a plan of improving the services. The following exercises defined the interconnection of all social service providers, as well as the relation with the local authorities. In addition, they took clear steps towards improving the cooperation of the social services and the local authorities. The representatives of both social services and local authorities have recognized the necessity and importance of forming a local area network, and these training sessions have enabled them to elect the representatives who will represent the network in the future and influence all individuals in the network to actively participate in its functioning.
Training session “Strengthening the capacities of foster parents for quality care of people with intellectual disabilities”
Strengthening the capacities of foster parents for quality care of people with intellectual disabilities
Within the project “The way from institutions to independent living” three training sessions on “Strengthening the capacities of foster parents for quality care of people with intellectual disabilities” took place. The training sessions were attended by 60 foster parents from Vranje, Nis, Doljevac, Topola, Leskovac, Becej, Sremska Mitrovica and so on.
Foster parents are one of the key resources and actors of transformation and deinstitutionalisation of large institutions because the practice has shown that the family is the right remedy for every man after a prolonged stay in an institution. The larger number of family members focused on the needs of people with mental or intellectual functioning leads to the annulment of trauma, negative habits and inadequate communication with the environment. The family, in addition to providing security, eventually becomes a “bridge” of social inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities in the community. The training confirmed the theory that foster parents sometimes have prejudice often shared with the staff of the Centers for Social Work and this situation considerably slows down the process of deinstitutionalization. Comments of the foster parents “why aren’t there more of these trainings” or “the obtained knowledge helped us a lot in the present work” show that the foster parents are eager for knowledge, practical training and specific solutions for their own dilemmas that can improve their daily lives. Also, foster parents are eager to visit the institution Kulina, to socialize with the users with intellectual disabilities and to create a realistic picture of those people. Not many nice things were known about them until these training sessions.
