CHILD GUIDANCE AND YOUTH CARE1. FUNCTION AND TARGETS1.1. Definition Mission Statement Child guidance and youth care means intensive coaching of children and adolescents in various problematic situations or after release from a reformatory institution in order to stabilize the outcome of educational measures. As a rule, this service is provided individually. Target To improve disorders in the mental and social development through individual intensive care in various problematic situations. To achieve a stage of development that is in accordance with the client’s age. To stabilize the educational outcome after release from a reformatory institution or from experiential education and adventure-based learning projects. To enhance the individuals’ capacity for social interaction, self-reliance and the ability to use leisure time in a reasonable way. To enhance the ability to cope with everyday situations and life as such (an essential goal of life world oriented child guidance and youth care). 1.2. Target Group Children and adolescents from 10 years of age (in well-founded exceptions 8 years) up to the age of majority. The continuation and conclusion of the care beyond this date is only possible in justified individual cases, if the measures were initiated before the client reached the age of majority. 1.2.1. Single or Cumulative Criteria for Assignment Minors whose well-being is or may be jeopardized. This comprises precarious life conditions entailing the danger of disintegration or menacing a successful mental development so that the formation of the ability to meet the challenges of life becomes unlikely Light to medium psychosocial development disorders Socialization problems Psycho-social development crisis Acute emotional stress After-care of a „complete education“, where this cannot be provided by the educational institution itself 1.2.2. Contraindications Lack of voluntariness Heavy psycho-social development disorders Violent behaviour endangering the caregiver Aggravated delinquency 1.3. Choosing the Type of Service The most lenient measure leading to the desired results is to be chosen. The choice has to be guided by the principles of expediency, objectivity and low cost. At the macro level, attention must be given to the continuity of embedding into a social environment Supporting and problem solving measures are to be organized according to the following principles: perceiving, structuring, participating, regarding as possible. They have to be tailored to the clients and their life setting. 2. SERVICES OFFERED2.1. Principles and Methodical Foundations The service, which is to be divided into a stage of planning and a stage of action, has to be guided by concepts of social pedagogy and social work: Empowerment Case management Networking Life world-oriented child and youth care Support in life management 2.2. Pedagogical Care Work The pedagogical care should especially promote: The ability to build up sustainable human interrelationships Self control Improvement of physical, psychic or social developmental disorders Promotion, enhancement and/or stabilization in the social, psychic and personal context Leading the client into new social environments Achievement of a degree of socialization corresponding to the client’s age Development of an individual pattern of understanding and acting Self-reliance Acquisition of practical skills, meaningful use of leisure time Activation of resources within the family Ensuring success of school education or professional training through contact to the school or training institution 2.3. Range of Services The service has to be provided as follows: The targets have to be established explicitly and must be laid down in a contract. The care is provided by the hour, dispersed over all days of the week at different times of the day, with one contact per week as a minimum. The time needed is to be recorded in a monthly report for each client individually. The care is provided by the youth worker in a self-responsible way on the basis of the targets, the time frame and the maximum of working hours agreed upon. As a rule, the care is provided according to the agreement with the certified social worker in charge of the case and the range of services as stipulated in the care contract. In situations of crisis the maximum number of hours may be exceeded after consulting the certified social worker in charge of the case. 3. QUALITY MANAGEMENT3.1. Structural Standards 3.1.1. Institution: not applicable, if the youth care worker is self-employed. Quality of the Concept The respective socio-educational concept (including the method, the underlying concept of human nature, the pedagogical relations) has to be guided by state-of-the-art scientific criteria and state-of-the-art methods of social work. Locations As a rule, the service is provided in the client’s social environment in the sense of life world oriented social work and is determined by the target agreed upon. Places other than the client’s social environment, which may be necessary to visit for achieving the pedagogical goals, require contractual stipulation after consulting the competent certified social worker as to their necessity (even if such a necessity arises in the course of the care process). 3.1.2. Specialized Staff (employed) / Qualified Persons (self-employed) / Overall Staff Requirement (employed) The number of qualified personnel is determined by the number of children and adolescents needing to be cared for. Target value for 100 per cent of the posts: 30 hours of care including travelling time to and from the client (journeys undertaken with the client are also included in this time frame), 10 hours for other activities (handing over of cases, preparation, follow-up, team meetings, documentation, billing). Qualification The qualification of the staff has to meet the requirements specific to the kind of service, the function and targets of the institution (see no. 1) and the job descriptions formulated in this respect. The staff members must have completed a training in the psycho-social field, with at least two years of supervision and professional experience (full-time, i.e. 40 hours a week) in the socio-educational work with the target group: nursery, medical, social and special pedagogy, social work, pedagogical academies, youth care, child care, social and educational coaching, family pedagogy, psychology, pedagogy. Depending on the specific field of work additional (complementary) qualifications may be necessary. 3.2. Processual Standards 3.2.1. Organization In the care concept targets and methods have to be described according to this regulation Each case has to be handed over to the youth care worker in the course of an interview and the targets of the care have to be explicitly defined by the certified social worker and to be laid down in an individual contract. Training plan of the youth care worker, a list of the current cases; if the youth care worker does not exert this profession as a main occupation, the extent and the kind of the main occupation are to be declared, making sure that self-allocations are excluded. Apart from compiling the reports the youth care workers are obliged to document their work in the time set aside for preparation and follow-up and to present the documentation (logbook, memo book) upon request to the certified social worker in charge of the case. 3.2.2. Documentation The client-related documentation has to contain the following: A written delivery report by the certified social worker Care agreement stating the time frame, the maximum number of hours, targets, and, if necessary, kilometre quotas for journeys undertaken with the clients. A personal data sheet jointly established when handing over the case. The documentation of care and development has to contain above all: The present situation: age, place of dwelling, job and/or school situation of the client, description of problems, resources, preferences of the client, a description of the family system and of family dynamics. A plan of the targets, the care process and the development. A monthly report on the measures taken A report on care and development (is to be sent semi-annually to the competent youth welfare authority and the certified social worker in charge of the case; if the situation requires it, the intervals may be shorter or longer). A (semi-annual) evaluation report on talks with the client and (if necessary and possible) with his/her family Documentation on the cooperation with the youth welfare authority and the certified social worker in charge of the case A conclusive report 3.2.3. Specialized Staff/Staff Development Regular team meetings or intervisions have to be held Supervision is compulsory and to be held regularly Continued training is compulsory and to be attended regularly 3.3. Outcome-related Standards The individual success of measures is verified by the youth welfare authority A semi-annual report on the development and the promotion plan is to be handed to the certified social worker in charge of the case A final report has to be compiled 4. ControllingThe providers of the service are obliged to supply computerized data regularly upon request to the provincial government.Such data are in particular: Institution-related data, if applicable Client-related data Staff-related data, if applicable Cost-related data |