Services

Assessment and treatment of children and families

Primary activities of this department are:

• individual diagnosing and evaluation of emotional, social and developmental difficulties and other problems of referred children, primarily traumatized children. This evaluation is conducted multidisciplinary, by psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, physicians, rehabilitators;
• expert forensic evaluation;
• planning of the optimal treatment of every child and parent who helps the child, including all members of the team, and child’s parents;
• providing necessary psychological, psychiatric, special education treatment, according to children’s needs;
• organising group therapy for children;
• organising self-help and personal growth groups for parents.

Education and training of professionals

This department conducts education, training and supervision of professionals.

Programs include education and training of professionals:

• working on the projects of prevention of child abuse directed towards children: prevention of abuse, basic facts on abuse and neglect, children`s  rights, how to protect oneself, what to do in case of abuse;
• in the multidisciplinary teams which include various professionals dealing with child abuse in their professional work consisting of: mental health professionals, psysicians, paediatricians, gynaecologists, surgeons, nurses, judges, lawyers, prosecutors, social workers, special educators, policemen;
• professional groups working with abused and neglected children and their families: mental health professionals, gynaecologists, paediatricians, kindergarten nurses, teachers, judges, prosecutors, policemen, lawyers, special educators, social workers;
• professionals working on the project of parenting and pre-parenting schools: family planning, what is parenting, child development, specific developmental abilities and tasks, positive parenting, discipline, reward and punishment system, stimulating age-appropriate play, siblings rivalry, negativistic behaviour, disorders.

Besides education and training department also provides permanent and systematic supervision of professionals and volunteers working on related projects and issues.

Public policy and children`s advocacy

This department is in charge of various aspects of changing the existing policies and laws aiming at better protection of children`s  rights and of abused children in general. Its activities are directed towards:

• changing the existing laws and legislative: identification of weaknesses, implementation of children`s  rights in the laws, new laws if needed;
• changing the existing court procedures: better protection of children, quicker processing of child abuse cases, specialised courts, judges, prosecutors, child testimony in the court;
• changing the existing curriculum of education, medical protection, social welfare;
• introducing all instances of society to the problem of child abuse: school system, medical system, social welfare, denominations, police, legislative;
• developing national programmes of child abuse prevention;
• enhancing better collaboration between NGOs and GOs;
• developing an efficient system of services and procedures in cases of child abuse and neglect.

Scientific work and research

Departement deals with:

• researching work on problem of child abuse and neglect;
• systemising the knowledge and cases from everyday work with children and families in the Centre;
• conducting scientific research in the field of child abuse and neglect, and part of scientific cooperation with other countries and projects.

Raising public awereness

Within this unit the issues of promotion and informing the public are taking place, as well as of writing and conceptualising promotional and informational materials.

Public education department deals with raising public awereness and with systematic and planned acitivities in the area of informing and educating wider public on certain issues such as child abuse and neglect, preventive services or existing projects. Such kind of activities are conducted trough:

• media: newspaper articles, television and radio;
• brochures and leaflets for parents, children and professionals: basic facts on psychical, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect, relevant developmental issues, teaching discipline, how to motivate a child, how to play with a child, how to protect yourself from abuse;
• public lectures and round tables;
• humanitarian events: theatre plays, art happenings and exhibitions, concerts;
• coordination of activities that include a wide range of institutions and organisations, such as “child abuse week”.