Family Strengthenig Approach To Improve Children Protection

FAMILY STRENGTHENING APPROACH TO IMPROVE CHILD PROTECTION
By María Isabel Valencia S.
Bogotá, July 2010.

INTRODUCTION. The economic future of a country is closely related to the capacity of today´s children to become in adults able to contribute as workers, business owners, parents, caregivers to aging family members and volunteers and civic leaders. Children need care to developharmoniously. This full and harmonious development is a right that is part of the Convention of the United Nations on the Rights of the Child (CRCH).1 Family is the best place where children can grow up. The relationship between children and parents/ caregivers could be affected by low education, economy and social priorities (have to work long hours, or spend a long time going to a work place). Cared forchildren is not only feeding, health and education. Involves parent´s skills development and an appropriate environment for children. The Family Strengthening approach has been used since early 1970´s in United States and Europe to face youth drug addiction problems. It has also been used in the last fifteen years to prevent Child abuse and neglect in Unite States and Latin American. FamilyStrengthening approach emphasizes in Family Strengths , built on community capacities and putting children first. FAMILY IN COLOMBIA Family is defined as a supportive group of people who are committed to each other and which may include, thoughit is not limited to, nuclear, extended, foster care, adoptive, and step or blended families. 2 A. Actual trends in families composition. The proportion female-headed households continues rising. 30% of households were leading by women in 2005.3

1 Convention on Right of the Child. United Nations Assambly. Guidelines principles. In: 2 3
http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Guiding_Principles.pdf Family Strengthening Writ Large: On Becoming a Nation that Promotes Strong Families and Successful Youth .Policy Brief N°24. Family Strengthening Policy Center . In:http://www.nassembly.org/fspc/PolicyBriefs/BriefsByArea.aspx?ID=101&CategoryID=103 National Survey on Demography and Healt 2005. Profamilia. In: http://www.profamilia.org.co/encuestas/00resumen/01general.htm#hogares http://www.profamilia.org.co/encuestas/02consulta/03caracteristicas/02poblacion02.html

B. Infrastructural and Structural Problems of Families.4 Nowadays, family faces different andhard challenges: more adults working, not only men; less free time to spend with children, and higher social diversity and external influences. The way in which family faces this challenges could guarantee new and better levels of development for family, but other responses could involved one of the family members or all of them into risky situations. Risk could be infrastructural, if originatesin the violation of human rights due to lack of basic resources in health, education, housing, resting and vacation time. The structural risks originate on internal relationships in the family or in social relationships that could favor the violation of human rights as environments to live in peace, belong to a family, the development or their capacities, be understood, and alike. According to thecenter of the family from “Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana”, communication difficulties, disagreements on family issues, affection and infidelity are the most common reasons of consultation on families and couples during 2000 to 2004. Separation and divorces had an important place in consulting frequently in associations with difficulties parents and children relationships, or individualdifficulties of adults, youth or children. It´s frequently finding in actual families, parents or adults not having time to communicate or share time with children. Parents have high levels of stress due to economical, social or work situations, and low levels of tolerance with children. CHILDREN CARE AND CARING ENVIRONMENT. According to Van der Leer Foundation5, Care is defined as the whole of...