Child and youth participation in the Individual Development

Plans (IDP)

Quality in Alternative CareInternational conference Prague 2011

Gražina Kašlėjūtė, PsychologistSOS Children Village

Vilnius, Lithuania

Individual development planning

• Individualized view to each child/young adult. • Involves all people, responsible for the

child/young adult.• Holistic approach to child/young adult

development – to support strengths and to minimize weaknesses.

• Child/young adult takes part in his developmental planning and takes responsibility for his/her future.

• Every year we plan budget according to IDP.

Individual Development planning process in SOS Families

• Formal – once a year - pedagogical team - SOS mother - child/youngster• Informal – twice a year - psychologist/social worker/director - SOS mother - child/youngster

Individual Developmental planning Participants in SOS Children Village

Child

(Biological relatives)

(Pedagogues, specialists)

(Kindergarten)

(School)Youth care

program Educator

Social workers

Director

Psychologist

SOS mother’s assistant

SOS mother

ChildIDP

Individual Developmental plan Participants in SOS Youth Care

programs

Formal

• Youngster

• Educator

• Youth care program director

Informal

• Youngster

• Educator

Individual development planning: documentation

• Individual development form – status quo information.

• Individual development plan– setting goals and making action plan to reach them.

Individual Development Form: Developmental areas

Mental health,

emotional sphere, behavior

Social net, communica-tion and relationship

Cognitive development and school

House-keeping, personal

hygiene, life skills

Health and physical

development

AUTONO-MY and

MATURITY criteria

Individual Development Form

• Enables to gather detailed information about the child – status quo.

• Divided into developmental areas that could be viewed separately - confidentiality of other information (exp.: participation of school educator while discussing Cognitive development area).

• Enables to match important areas where attention should be paid.

• Individual Development Plan (goals and action plan) is separate from the information form – easy to use, to compare with previous plans, to renew, to follow, to involve the child participation

Individual development plan: Goals

1. LONG TERM – 6 -10 years.• Proffesion• Job• Housing (place to live)• Social Skills (communication, social integration)• Life skills (houshold, bills, dealing with money)• Emotional stability (ability to attach, to keep relationship).2. MIDDLE TERM GOALS – specific, 2-5 years. 3. SHORT TERM GOALS – 1-2 years. Specific, realistic,

measurable, clear responsibilities and time frame.

Example: profession

Girl, 14 years old.

Long term goal To be a cook

Middle term goal To graduate secondary school and to go to professional school for cook

Short term goals To learn to cook.

To finish school year full mark.

Action plan

Actions Responsible Time frame Success indicator

Notes

Attend all classes

Child Till the end of the school year

No lessons missed except illness

To cook dinner for the family

Child, SOS mother

On Saturdays, March - June

Cooked dinner every Saturday. Can cook 5 different meals.

To learn to bake a cake

Child, social worker

Till April 25 The cake baked for the whole community for the Easter fest

Individual Development Planning process

• Filling in Individual Development Form – information – SOS mother and psychologist

• Presenting status quo information about the child for the pedagogical team (director, social workers, psychologist).

• Exchanging additional information about the child – report/characteristic form school, kindergarten, educators, specialists, pedagogical evaluation results etc. Involving direct participation if needed.

• Considering Child questionnaire (child indirect participation) - questions, ideas, recommendations.

• Setting goals, writing an action plan, taking responsibilities – (child direct participation).

Child/young adult participation

Directly • 3) Youngsters in SOS Families that will be going

to youth care program (16 +)• Youngsters in youth care programs

Indirectly – prior to Individual Development planning

• 1) Child friendly questionnaire• 2) Conversation – SOS mother, psychologist

From the age 12+ child signs on his individual plan where he took his responsibilities.

Child friendly questionnaire

• Include all areas of child development. • Fun and easy for children to fill in. • Enables to see the child’s ability to evaluate

realistically his/her strengths and difficulties. • Enables to evaluate child’s ability to see the

perspective for the future and plan steps to reach the goals.

• Enables to compare child’s view of himself with the view of SOS mother and other adults responsible for the child.

• Gives a clue to the child’s personality.

Other methods

* Progress tree - tells about child feeling and view of himself

and others in SOS Family or community- could you match, where are you in your

SOS family and where are other members. Where would you like to be?

* Parachute - learning to set goals, to foresee the

difficulties and challenges and to indicate the needed support.

Individual Development Planning – why it is important?• Individualistic approach – we notice the child

and we hear his/her voice. • Encourage to take responsibility for their own life

and future. • We teach to raise realistic goals and support in

actions needed to reach them. • Structured process - realistic and clear view and

perspective of the future – “I live here until… then I study and live there until…I need support for studies”

• ID planning process helps constantly and gradually to prepare youngsters for independent living.

• Possibility to keep in touch with young adults in after care programs.

Challenges

• Parentalistic approach: Some children in SOS families don’t feel the Individual Development Plan as their plan -

• Combining “our plan for the child” with “the child’s plan”.

• Preparation for direct child participation in his Individual Development plan is needed and it depends on child self-confidence, emotional maturity, support and relationship with SOS mother.

Good practice• Children come back to modify or review their plans. • Success in reaching child/young adult goals strongly

depends on:- child/young adult himself - emotional maturity,

responsibility. - support they get from important adults and the surrounding.

Youngsters of youth care program in 1-2 years show initiative themselves to write their individual development plans, indicate the support they need and realize that it is their responsibility for their future.

How to reach the child?

The story: The little prince and the fox (A.Exiupery)

• "Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at."

• "I am a fox," said the fox.• "Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy."• "I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed."• "What does that mean-- 'tame'?“• "It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. It means to establish ties."• "'To establish ties'?“• …..

• "One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox.

• "What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.

• "You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me-- like that-- in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings.

But you will sit a little closer to me, every day...“

How to talk that the child would listen and how to listen that the child could

talk?

• The child must feel that he is listen to and taken seriously.

• The child must feel that what he says is important and it will be considered and written in his plan.

• The child must feel that he is respected and there’s no prejudice against him. You are a partner.

• To stress the positive side of the child and support his strengths.

• Take “not knowing position” and ask, share ideas. • Put your idea “on the table” – let the child to decide -

whether to take it or not. • Support the child’s ideas and plans enthusiastically and

encourage him.

THANK YOU