In the previous blog, I described some of the responsibilities of a caseworker. There are many. Caseworkers jobs are not easy. They bear an enormous responsibility and are generally very committed to making sure that the children who depend on them are looked after as well as possible.
Continue reading “Caseworkers’ Workloads”Category: Awareness
Caseworkers
Last week, I discussed the importance of counsellors in setting up alternative care and in transforming care. Now, I want to discuss the part of caseworkers. They too play an essential role in the process.
Continue reading “Caseworkers”Using Trained Counsellors
In Monday’s blog, I explained the need to provide counselling for children who are placed in family-based alternative care. This is needed regardless of whether they came from an institution, whether they had to be removed from their family for their safety, or whether they lost their parents and have no other relatives. All these scenarios provide children with a traumatic background, and if they are not provided with counselling to help them deal with this, the chance of their placement in a family working becomes much smaller.
Continue reading “Using Trained Counsellors”The Need for Counselling
Too often children who are placed in alternative care, or children who have been moved from an institution to a family – whether it be their own or a new one – are not provided with any counselling. This is a big problem and can even cause a ‘placement break-down’. Meaning it turns out not to be possible any longer for a child to stay in the family she was placed in – even if it was her own – because of emotional and behavioural problems.
Continue reading “The Need for Counselling”Children Need to Have a Say
Children’s voices and opinions are left out of the decision-making process in alternative care far too often. Even when we are talking about decisions that have an enormous impact and will cause big changes in a child’s life. More often than not, children are not even asked for their opinion on what they think would be a good solution, or on what they do and do not want. And if a child courageously tries to make themselves heard, they are often silenced or drowned out.
Continue reading “Children Need to Have a Say”Busting Stigmas with Awareness
When you suggest that it might be possible to move towards family-based care by reuniting children with their families or by finding foster families for them, it is not uncommon to be told that this is not possible with ‘those’ children. Or sometimes, people will tell you that they have tried to convince families to take back their children or have tried to recruit foster families, and no one was willing. In a way, these nay-sayers are right, because it is not that easy, but it is possible.
Continue reading “Busting Stigmas with Awareness”World Tourism Day
World Tourism Day, dedicated to an industry that helps people expand their horizons, and brings much needed money to areas that might not have many other means of getting it. However, there is also a dark side to the tourism industry. It has caused much harm, despite never intending to. Voluntourism is a perfect example of this.
Continue reading “World Tourism Day”International Youth Day
In the context of alternative care and institutionalisation, it is important to take a moment to consider International Youth Day, and not just because a lot of teenagers are growing up in institutions. They are, and it is significant, and we will get to that, but there is more.
Continue reading “International Youth Day”International Day of the World’s Indigenous People
Indigenous cultures continue to be more and more at risk of disappearing. For many decades, colonial powers have actively worked to try to wipe out indigenous languages and ways of life. Unfortunately, they have been quite effective at this. Although the tide has turned and the right to honour the indigenous cultures and languages and to live with them have finally been acknowledged, in many places there are few people left who are still familiar with them. So, it becomes a struggle to survive.
Continue reading “International Day of the World’s Indigenous People”World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
Unfortunately trafficking in people, and in children, is still big business, all around the world. There are practically no countries that are not a source, destination or transit country for child trafficking. This is something that needs to be tackled, and in order to be able to tackle it, we need to be aware of the problem. As well as of the fact that child trafficking is closely related to institutionalisation of children.
Continue reading “World Day Against Trafficking in Persons”