Vitebsk University will organize the study of social technologies for working with at-risk families for the first time

April 17, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. Vitebsk State University named after P. Masherov (VSU) will organize a seminar on social technologies for working with dysfunctional families for the first time, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Dean of the Faculty of Professional Development of the Institute of Professional Development and Retraining of VSU, Elena Bobrova, told a BELTA correspondent. The seminar "Family-Oriented Approach in Child Protection Services" is a joint project of VSU and the representative office of the International Children's Fund in Belarus. The educational and practical event is organized for representatives of medical institutions, commissions and inspectorates for juvenile affairs, specialists of socio-pedagogical centers, and education departments of executive committees. During the classes, participants will be introduced to the family-oriented approach in the work of child protection services, the methodology of social investigation, the technology of planning family-oriented social work, and methods of involving families in the work of child protection services. The seminar will be held in four stages in May-June of the current year on the basis of the VSU Faculty of Professional Development. The application of social technologies in providing assistance to families and children makes it possible to look at family problems in a new way, to understand the family's role in solving its own problems, and also to use the family's resources to restore its normal life activities, Elena Bobrova emphasized. For example, conducting a social investigation involves not only an objective assessment of the child's safety level in a dysfunctional family but also the implementation of measures for his protection, the development of a rehabilitation program for such a family, as well as alternative measures in case the family cannot or refuses to participate in its rehabilitation program. In most cases, such assistance makes it possible to preserve the family, which is the natural environment for a child's socialization, and thus contribute to the prevention of social orphanhood. According to the commission for juvenile affairs of the regional executive committee as of March 1, 3,398 young residents of the region were in a socially dangerous situation. After the entry into force of Decree No. 18 "On Additional Measures for State Protection of Children in Dysfunctional Families," 1,958 children were recognized as needing state protection, of which 60% returned to their biological families. -0-