Service Centers for Families of Children with Disabilities Quarterly Progress Report
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Service centers for families of children with disabilities Quarterly Progress Report Marginalized Populations Support Activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 April 2018 QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT Service centers for families of children with disabilities January – March 2018 The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. 2 CONTENTS 1. General information about Service centers for families of children and persons with disabilities ..................................................................................... 4 2.1. Service Center “Dajte nam šansu” Sarajevo (SC #1 i SC#2) ..................... 5 2.2. Service Center “Tračak nade” Foča ........................................................... 9 2.3. Service Center “SocI” Tuzla ...................................................................... 12 2.4. Service Center “Dajte nam šansu-Zvjezdice” Banja Luka ...................... 16 4. SC Beneficiaries’ Statements ........................................................................ 19 4. Press clipping ................................................................................................ 21 3 1. General information about Service Centers for families of children and persons with disabilities The Service Centers are particularly focused on strengthening the families of children and persons with disabilities and their development. It is important that every family has the security provided by the work and services of the Service Centers. It is necessary to point out that psychological support for parents / guardians has been proven as necessary. The majority of new Service Center services beneficiaries come to SCs at the recommendation of parents of children with developmental difficulties who already use SC services. The quality of services is appreciated by the beneficiaries, who in turn recommended the SCs to other families of children and people with developmental difficulties. In Bosnia and Herzegovina we have 5 active Service Centers: 1. Sarajevo SC # 1 (managed by the Association "Dajte nam šansu / Give Us a Chance" Sarajevo), 2. Sarajevo SC # 2 (managed by the Association "Dajte nam šansu / Give Us a Chance" Sarajevo), 3. SC Tuzla (managed by the Association "SOCI" Tuzla), 4. SC Banja Luka (managed by the Association "Dajte nam šansu-Zvjezdice / Give Us Chance-Stars" Banja Luka), 5. SC Foča (managed by the Association "Tračak nade / Glimmer of Hope" Foča). All Service centers continuously provide the following free services: Short stay at the Service Center (up to 4 hours); Psychological support: o Initial interview with parents and assessment of parental acceptance of their childrens’ diagnosis; o Support workshops; o Advisory-instructional work with parents of children with disabilities; o Counseling for parents and siblings of children with disabilities; o Psychological work during the short stay, to analyze behavior and address dysfunctional patterns of behavior; o Psychological crisis interventions; Labor and occupational workshops with beneficiaries; Individual and group treatment with beneficiaries; Providing information and legal advice; Mobile team - field support and transport of beneficiaries; Outdoor activities; Education of trainees / assistants; Creative workshops for beneficiaries; Services provided by some of the Service Centers, depending on available resources: Information provided by social workers; Individual speech therapy treatments; Individual special education sessions; Animal-assisted therapy for SC beneficiaries; Organized activities with adult beneficiaries; IT workshop; Observation and recommendations for children with suspected developmental disabilities; Sports; Folklore / Folkdance; Evening support to families (third shift); Weekend support (working Saturdays). The constant increase in the number of beneficiaries and the number of services provided shows that the Centers meet the expectations of beneficiaries. At the end of March 2018, the Service Centers had 725 registered families, and in the period of January - March they provided almost 12,000 services in 5 Centers. 4 2.1. Service Center “Dajte nam šansu” Sarajevo (SC #1 and SC#2) Below is a list of the most significant activities carried out at the Service Centers in Sarajevo (SC#1 & SC#2) in the period between January and March 2018: Activities specific to SC #1: 1. In January we held an Open Door Day for members of the Novo Sarajevo Municipal Assembly, to introduce them to the work and methods used at the SC. 8 members attended. 2. A one-day training was held at the Social Work Center in Zenica for members of the Association “Dlan” from Zenica. It was intended to present the work done by the Service Centers, i.e. the opening of SCs across BiH. The training was attended by experts, the Association's management, volunteers and parents. It was conducted by the Director Ines Kavalec, psychologist Bojan Šijan, social worker Almina Hodžić, and special education expert Selma Paravlić. 3. The SC was visited by Mirela Alić, the psychologist at the SC SOCI Tuzla, to attend a training with the SC's psychologist and learn about the work of psychologists at the SC “Dajte nam šansu”. She met the users and attended workshops for parents and children. 4. Representatives of the Center for Healthy Aging agreed to cooperate on activities held for parents while the children are at the SC: e.g. language courses, computer courses, music workshops, and physical therapy. 5. Meeting held with the Mayor of Novo Sarajevo Municipality, to discuss cooperation. Considering the number of problems faced by this segment of the population, both children and their parents, the Municipality wants to open a center that would support these families and children, which should be funded through a special grant. 6. Service Center visited by Sarajevo's “sit down” comedian Jasmin Đemiđić, who met our users, spent time with them and entertained them. Jasmin has a disability and wants to volunteer at our Service Centers. He regularly performs as a “sit down” comedian (Jasmin uses a wheelchair, so «sit down» is wordplay referencing “stand up” comedians). 7. The SC was visited by BHT 1, for the purpose of filming a segment on animal-assisted therapy conducted at the Association in cooperation with the foundation Bela Vida. 8. Psychologist Bojan Šijan appeared on BHT1, in a show called “Putevi zdravlja” and talked about the SC's work, experiences of families using our services, what the families see as the biggest problems, how the SC model is replicated in other cities in BiH, and the importance of psychotherapy for parents. 9. As a part of the program «Young volunteers» the SC1 was visited by students from Dobrinjska gimnazija, who volunteered at the Center for the day, and learned about its work and services it provides, and had the chance to work directly with the users. 10. The Association “Dajte nam šansu” was appointed into an inter-sectoral group advocating for changes in the education of children and persons with developmental disabilities. The goal of this group is to reorganize existing institutions and take advantage of the available space and staff capacities, so that every child with developmental disabilities are in the system and have the same rights as typical children. Activities specific to SC#2: 1. SC2 held a workshop on legal issues and psychology for parents and volunteers. The workshop was conducted by Minela Džananović, attorney, and Bojan Šijan, psychologist. 2. Training held for new volunteers. Special education expert Selma Paravlić presented the work of the SC, the services provided and their tasks. 3. SC2 was visited by students of Prva gimnazija (15 students) who acted as young volunteers at the SC for the day. They met our users, spent time with them and took part in the day's activities. 4. Workshops for parents held at the SC “Dajte nam šansu 2”, by the Foundation CURE. The trainers were Vedrana Frašto (“Violence in romantic relationships”) and Vildana Džekman (“General rights of women in BiH”). 5. The Open Door cycle included an Open Door Day at the SC2 for the media, who learned about the work of the recently opened SC and the difficulties faced by families, including problems regarding education for children and persons with developmental disabilities. 5 6. Meeting with representatives of the Parent's Council of the Institute “Mjedenica” and the Center “Vladimir Nazor” to discuss the press conference on the topic “Current problems in education of children with developmental and other disabilities in Sarajevo Canton”. 7. The Center for Healthy Aging of the Centar Municipality held a roundtable on the topic “All visible, all equal, rights and perspectives of socially marginalized women”. The speakers were Prof. Meliha Lekić, PhD, Ana Kotur –Erkić (activist for the rights of women with disabilities) and Anela Kozica (activist for the rights of parents of children with disabilities). 8. During the program “Young Volunteers” the SC 2 was visited by students from the High School of Dentistry (juniors and seniors). The students learned about the work of the SC and worked directly with our users through organized activities planned for the day. By the end of March, 2018, the two Service Centers in Sarajevo had 445 registered families, and in the previous period (January - March) provided 4246 services. In focus: Beginning of the campaign “Families Rule” On April 27, 2018, the Association