Six years have passed since the start of Family-Based Solutions. The past year has brought an interesting combination of continuing involvement in projects and exciting new things.
Continue reading “The Sixth Year of Family-Based Solutions”Category: Work Progress
Training Programme on Understanding the Trauma of Children from Institutions
There is suddenly a flurry of blogs I’m putting out. That is because there are so many interesting new developments taking place that I am excited to share with you. In this case, the training programme that I have developed. Making sure that people involved in moving children from institutions to families really understand what to take into account during assessments and how to support families and children does not end with pushing a book into their hands. Most people – particularly those new to these topics – will need training and opportunities to ask questions, discuss issues, and connect the new information to their work experience to implement and integrate it into their daily work practice.
Continue reading “Training Programme on Understanding the Trauma of Children from Institutions”A Call for Collaboration on the Compendium Project
I have started an ambitious independent project. It aims to build on various resources and tools that are developed by different (I)NGOs and practitioners to provide concrete guidance on implementation for various parts of the process of transitioning alternative care from institutional to family-based. I intend to map the resources and tools – also those developed for specific countries – available, (and am able to read documents in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Dutch). The project will go beyond an overview of what is out there and where it can be found. It will include a full analysis of the strengths, weaknesses of, and gaps in and between the different resources and tools. The mapping will only be the first stage of the project. The second stage will be to develop a document – or given the eventual size, really more of a compendium – in which the strongest elements from all the resources will be brought together (properly referenced) and to create new material to fill the gaps identified.
Continue reading “A Call for Collaboration on the Compendium Project”The Fourth Year of Family-Based Solutions
And so another year has passed. It is hard to believe it is already four years since I started Family-Based Solutions (Why Family-Based Solutions then). So much has happened and so much keeps changing. While I have never found myself bored before, the past year has been a particularly busy one.
Continue reading “The Fourth Year of Family-Based Solutions”Three Years Family-Based Solutions, in a New Place
Time to take stock again, as Family-Based Solutions enters its fourth year, as a registered consultancy business this time. Some major changes have taken place in my personal life, which resonate through to Family-Based Solutions. Here I will give you an update on the changes and accomplishments.
Continue reading “Three Years Family-Based Solutions, in a New Place”Shifting My Workload
Another announcement of a change in the frequency at which blogs will be posted. As my workload continues to increase, it is becoming harder and harder to find the time to write blogs once a week. So from now on, blogs will be appearing less regularly. Instead, I will write and post when I have something I want to share very much. This may mean that at times there will be several blogs closer together, while at other times there will be bigger gaps.
I am still open to suggestions for blogs, though. So if there is a topic you would like to know more about or have questions about, so let me know in the comments and I will see what I can do.
Two Years (Why) Family-Based Solutions
Another year has passed, and what a year it has been! Hard to imagine that it is already two years ago that I started to set up Why Family-Based Solutions. One year ago, I wrote about how I was ‘reimagining’ my work (you can read about that HERE) and trying to determine in what direction to take it. In the intervening time, I have developed this further and am quite pleased with how things are going right now.
Continue reading “Two Years (Why) Family-Based Solutions”An Update on Goings On
After 20 blogs laying out the explanation with the Theory of Change model for deinstitutionalisation or setting up a comprehensive child protection system, it feels like coming back after having been away for a while. For ten weeks, I have not been able to comment on current events and the work that I have been doing – except on the forum (which you can find HERE). That has not always been easy because a lot has been going on. Still, I do not regret ‘taking this time away’. I think it was important to provide the information given over the previous 20 blogs and to have posted other blogs in between would have created confusion. In any case, now the time has come to catch up again.
Continue reading “An Update on Goings On”Heading to India, Again
The day after tomorrow, I will be on my way to India again. A short visit this time, I’m only able to be there for just over three weeks. And in that time I am going to try to cram a busy schedule of trainings, meetings and presentations for two projects in different parts of the country. I am looking forward to it.
Continue reading “Heading to India, Again”Developing a Model
Over the past 50 years, the awareness of the harm caused by institutionalising children has gradually sunken in and started spreading globally. Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand were the first to start moving away from institutional care and towards family-based alternative care. Since they were at the forefront of this movement, they had on the one hand the challenge of discovering alternatives and figuring out how to implement them properly with little precedence to go on, while on the other hand they had the advantage of being able to do so without outside pressure to get it done quickly. In the past decade or two that pressure has been rising on all countries.
Continue reading “Developing a Model”