Center for Family-Mediated Intervention Project

Objectives:

The project “Center for Family-Mediated Intervention” aims to introduce and develop an innovative for Bulgaria service where the family is the driver, acknowledging the strengths and upgrading the skills and competencies of family members. The project aims to:

• Provide support to the families of children aged 2 to 7 by accessing the available resources for child development and better quality of life for the family through the establishment of Center for Family-Mediated Intervention,
• Create a model for the family-mediated intervention service, based on the family-oriented approach,
• Coach the parents, other family members and carers, to become more confident about their existing skills and competencies, and to develop new competencies regarding the child,
• Dissemination of the family-mediated intervention model and its benefits among professionals, agencies, partners, parents and carers.

Activities:

1. Therapeutic group work with children and families through:

• Family group for mediated intervention for functional communication and adaptive skills,
• Family group for mediated intervention for children from the autistic spectrum,
• Family group for mediated intervention for children with complex and intensive support needs.

2. Seminars and thematic meetings for parents and carers.

3. Social and psychological consultations for parents and carers.

4. Publicity activities.

Results:

• Increased quality of services for the whole family with the help of the new type of support.
• Support to the governmental deinstitutionalization policy, targeted towards raising children at home and building family capacity. Following this policy, it is important to look at the child as a part of the family, and not as a separate unit, which used to be the common perception before the adoption of the Strategy for deinstitutionalization in Bulgaria.
• Strengthened child-family bond – the positive outcomes from the service will contribute to the wellbeing of the families in the community.
•  Increased knowledge and capacity of parents and carers and development of advocacy skills.
• Increased family autonomy.