Abstract

The FACT project – Fostering Alternative Care for Troubled Minors – aims to boost child protection system changes by strengthening the capacity of alternative care communities’ professionals to manage children under penal measures who are in particular vulnerable situation – e.g., children with psychological, psychiatric or personality disorders. Such aim will be pursued by a) boosting inter-agency cooperation; and b) strengthening the capacity of all professionals working with and for children in alternative care to better respond to the needs of children with psychiatric disorders. The capacity building process will represent the core focus of this project.

Specifically, the project has the following objectives:

1. Complement the efforts of the EU in the area of the rights of the child by boosting child protection system changes in the 5 partner countries (PC);
2. Improve efficiency of the child protection system in 5 PC so as to improve outcomes for children and in particular children with mental health disorders in alternative care communities;
3. Ensure that children with psychiatric/personality disorders in alternative care are guaranteed full access to their rights, including educational, social, and therapeutic, in a child-appropriate manner and context;
4. Strengthen the capacity of professionals working for or with children in alternative care to respond adequately to the particular needs of children with psychiatric/personality disorders;
5. Strengthen interagency and multidisciplinary cooperation in the area of the rights of children in alternative care so as to improve the system’s response capacity to some children’s special needs;
6. Raise awareness in the area of the rights of the child, and particularly in regards to children in alternative care, at national and EU level.

The project aims at improving a) the rights of children in alternative care under penal measures who develop psychological or personality disorders; b) the overall protection system of the countries involved. To achieve these goals the project will primarily target all professionals working for or with these children by involving professionals in a capacity building process. At the end of such process, alternative care professionals are expected to have improved their knowledge of these children’s needs; of the most adequate communication tools and strategies to address them; of the child protection system and functioning in their countries; and of the overall existing networks (agencies and professionals) involved in the system.