What's FAB

FA.B! FAMILY BASED CARE FOR CHILDREN IN MIGRATION

FA.B! Family Based care for children in migration is a project aimed at supporting the improvement and expansion of alternative family-based care system for Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UMC) in five European frontline Mediterranean Countries: Italy, Greece, Spain, Malta and Cyprus.

CIDIS is the project leader, that coordinates, and supports the other five partners in a transnational action that involves six partners and several actors including professionals, stakeholders, families, volunteers and civil society.

FA.B! also aims at strengthening networks and enhancing competences of different actors involved in UMC in order to make them able to perform all tasks related to promoting the well-being of the children.

Objectives

Assistance

Expanded use of family-based care/foster care for unaccompanied children providing suitable assistance, tailored to their individual needs.

Competence

Equip care givers, professionals and social workers with the knowledge and skills to better understand the children’s vulnerabilities and develop trusting relationships.

Quality

Improve the quality of national and local reception systems for UMC in five European border countries.

Long term

In the long term, the expected impact of the FA.B! project is to expand family-based care system  that will support the well-being of children arriving in Europe alone.

Activities

Transfer of competences and instruments for the implementation of family based practices and tailored services

Transnational workshops among project partners to foster alternative care hosting system for children

Development and adjustments of 3 tools with common strategies and instruments to implement Family based care services

Identify individual needs of minors to provide tailored services and stimulating their participation and right to choose in procedures concerning schools and education settings, care and protection, health etc., and implement appropriate profiling and matching between foster families and minors

Inform end empower children about their rights and how to let them respected and stimulate their participation

Enhance competences of actors involved in alternative/non-institutionalised care systems

Training programs for professionals (staff, civil servants, Services’ managers, social workers, guardians, educators)

Learning sessions for foster cares families and individuals interested in foster care for unaccompanied minors

Informative sessions with migrant’s unaccompanied children to inform children about what family based care system can offer them, what and who they will meet in their integration journey

Raise awarness across civil society and call to action

Implementation of a European communication campaign aimed at involving civil society, public relevant stakeholders and professionals in taking action for UMC and promote family based care system as the best alternative to reception facilities for migrant minors

Improvement and qualification of local system

Working tables involving local public and private stakeholders directly engaged in the care and integration of unaccompanied minors

On demand support and consulting for public and private actors in direct contact with UMC

Circle time to support foster families and volunteers

Participation-training workshops addressed to unaccompanied children to strengthen their communication skills, proactivity and intercultural abilities

 

Deliverables of the project

The project will end at the end of 2022

WP 2

To transfer skills and instruments for the implementation of family based practices, It will be produced:

  • 5 sharing experience workshop plans, reports and programs on communication and involvement of volunteers
  • 5 trainings on specific issues
  • A common child communication policy to define responsibilities and activities for those directly involved with UMC
  • 7 line guides and table games to mobilize the participation of UMC
  • 5 recommendations, guidelines and contents for national training programs for professionals and foster families
  • 5 in-depth thematic booklets to give proper information about UMC and to enlighten and approach social society and possible foster families and volunteers

WP 3

To improve the skills of the actors involved in alternative/non-institutionalized care systems, it will be produced:

  • 5 training courses for professionals in 5 partner national languages implemented considering the specific needs of different national contexts and addressed to staff, civil servants, service managers, social workers, guardians, educators, professional care givers, and different types of professionals dealing with UMC
  • 25 learning sessions for individuals and families, training sessions on fostering UMC with the participation of experts and testimonials
  • 20 information sessions with UMC to be informed about their rights and the opportunities and challenges of family-based care

WP 4

To raise awareness across civil society and call to action, it will be implemented:

  • A call to action campaign in 5 European countries
  • FA.B! web platform
  • 4 national and local conferences and radio spot to promote family-based care system
  • 4 living library sessions per country
  • 25 itinerant awareness-raising events
  • Qualitative research for the production of recommendations and guidelines for the development of further communication campaigns and calls to action

WP 5

To strengthen and qualify the local system, it will be organized:

  • 15 working table sessions with stakeholders for the production of 5 programming policy documents
  • 5 participation training programs focused on the building of the critical consciousness of UMC, to provide them with the tools to be more aware of their hidden capacities and to improve them
  • 5 service design prototypes to improve the design of local services and produce recommendations to ensure reproducibility and improvement of activities