The ELFO project aims to develop a process of capacity building and support for guardians, foster families and legal representatives of children deprived of parental care in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Bulgaria for a period of 24 months, from December 2016 until the end of November 2018.
The project is supported by the Program for Rights, Equality and Citizenship of the European Union.
The project partner countries are DCI - Defense for Children Italy (Italy); Defense for Children - Spain (Spain); CESIS (Portugal); ARSIS (Greece) and PULSE Foundation (Bulgaria). In addition, in each project country there is official support from the local government: Municipality of Genoa (Italy); Regional Child Care Services (Spain); National Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child (Portugal); The Directorate for Social Welfare, Central Macedonia District (Greece) and the Regional Directorate for Social Assistance of Pernik (Bulgaria).
The main goal of the project is to improve the level and quality of protection of children, victims or potential victims of violence by empowering guardians, legal representatives and foster parents of children deprived of parental care within an integrated framework for child protection.
To achieve this common goal, ELFO will strive to achieve three specific goals through related activities:
Improve the competencies of guardians, legal representatives and foster parents to protect and promote the rights of children, victims or potential victims of violence during the capacity building and training process. After the first period of analysis of the national context and mapping of the training groups, a training module will be developed and training sessions will be held in each country.
Support and integrate these functions within the referral system, in order to increase the effectiveness of references in the child protection system. Multilateral cooperation meetings with key actors are planned, as well as follow-up meetings with trainees in each country throughout the project. An information and support tool will be developed to be disseminated to project participants.
To maintain, receive and expand quality family foster care, as well as community-based responses to violence against children, as key components of child protection systems. After defining a strategy for information and awareness raising, some activities will be carried out, such as: organization of information days in each country, dissemination of project development through the media and social networks, creation of promotional videos, dissemination of project results during at the final event in Italy.
Training program for guardians and foster parents
Within the project, a training program for guardians and foster parents was created. The program is available here.
Guidelines for the implementation of the program are available here.
More than 60 foster parents and guardians were trained in Bulgaria. They participated in specially organized trainings and supervisions.
ASSESSMENT on the functioning of the system and the situation regarding the protection and care of children deprived of parental care in the Republic of Bulgaria
001 — BG — Bulgarian national assessment on guardinaship and foster care