| Family Centre |
Article Index for Family |
Shopping Centre |
Website Links For Family |
Information AboutFamily Centre |
|
Family Centres are community resources established within England and Wales to provide local support to parents and children and, as such, they represent a key resource for a number of government policies that target families in deprived areas. PURPOSE The lives of everyone within the community can be disrupted by a range of events such as illness, divorce, unemployment, isolation, and depression. But those who failed at and were failed by school, normally leave with their self-esteem and confidence diminished, and so they are more prone to offer inadequate solutions to the problems that confront them in later life. There are now more than five hundred Family Centres in England and Wales that are designed to provide community-based, preventive services to both families and children 'in need' as well as children 'at risk' from poor parenting — the Department of Health established national standards for residential care in ''The Residential Family Centres Regulations 2002''. These Family Centres have been created by different local government departments or reflect partnerships led by a particular service in response to a number of different Government initiatives. The Social Services policies aim at encouraging better family relationships. Education policies tend to focus on improving the interaction between families and the local schools and remedial facilities. While Training policies offer help to parents in improving their own skills in the face of economic and ocupational changes. FUNCTION Family Centres offer a range of different kinds of community-based support for families, which include child care, drop-in facilities for parents, counselling, and training. These centres have three main features: #They are located in neighbourhoods where there is a marked incidence of social problems — usually reflected in high rates of children being taken into care. #They are intended to draw out the family’s strengths instead of focusing on their problems. #Their services are accessible to local communities and more directly responsive to people’s needs. Psychologists at Family Centres have to work with families across the spectrum of failure, Some are simply failling to thrive and need direct support to build self-esteem and confidence. Other have more serious problems involving domestic violence or children who have been neglected, or physically or emotionally abused. At the very least, Family Centres provide a warm atmosphere of welcome, offering re-parenting for all:
|
|
|