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We have mentioned earlier the project of Fair Start, which is an online training programme for  people working in children’s homes. The programme is part of the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme. Although the project has now ended, the website continues to be a platform of information where you can also find the material of the project.

Read more about Fair Start.

Here is another interesting article about social work in the UK. In the UK, this also includes the care and support given to persons with developmental disabilities, but not people working in child services.

The article discusses the fact that a lot of social work is now being transferred to “social health assistants” who do not need the same level of education as social workers. So they do not have the same kind of expertise.

Another issue is the fact that there is such a tight focus on tasks carried out and the time spent – what is referred to the “care management straitjacket” – meaning social workers spend more and more time in front of the computer rather than with the citizens with needs.

To get an insight to social work in the UK, read the article here.

On the website of the British newspaper The Guardian, there is an interesting article today about how the online network, Netbuddy, came to life. Netbuddy is a “special needs Mumsnet” (a network for mums) where “users submit and search for tips – from bed-wetting to respite care – download information packs, make online contact with resident professional experts and take part in discussions on the forums” the article reports.

The network was set up and is managed by Emma Sterland whose older brother Ben has Down’s syndrome. “We wanted to capture that wealth of expertise and knowledge that parents and carers have. It’s not just for other parents, but also for professionals working with people with learning disabilities”, says Sterland in the article.

Just 18 months after it saw the light of day, Netbuddy attracts 6,000 new visitors a month.

Read more about Netbuddy and its success here.

Go directly to Netbuddy.

In the UK there is a new and very interesting development going on concerning social pedagogy. Social pedagogy in the UK covers child and youth care work and has become a subject of focus for researchers, practitioners, teachers and other professionals working in the field as a way to understand and improve the life of children, especially those in public care.

To read more about what our colleagues in the UK are up to please go to the following websites where you will also find references to articles and relevant publications:

Social Pedagogy UK

ThemPra – Theory Meets Practice

Jacaranda Recruitment – Helps professionals from Europe find social care work in the UK

Social Pedagogy UK, ThemPra and Jacaranda Recruitment are the three forces that together push the development in and interest of social pedagogy in the UK forward.

In October 2011 the European Social Charter celebrated its 50^th anniversary. The European Social Charter is the equivalent of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights with a focus on social and economic human rights. It was adopted in 1961 and revised in 1996.

The Social Charter guarantees the fundamental freedoms and rights of every day, such as housing, health, education, employment, legal and social protection, movement of persons and non-discrimination.

The Charter has been signed or ratified by 47 states.

To learn more about the European Social Charter and the European Committee of Social Rights, you can choose between the following options:

Download the European Social Charter.

Go to the website of the European Social Charter.

Read the latest newsletter of the European Committee of Social Rights.

Even before the ‘credit crunch’ of 2008 and the economic crises of 2011, the globalization of neo-liberal economic and fiscal regimes was generating growing social, economic and cultural polarization.

This has resulted in ever increasing numbers of children, young people and families finding themselves located in areas of concentrated social disadvantage on the margins of society.

These forms of offending are also evident amongst marginalised young people in other North American and European cities and, as Malcolm Stevens the IJJO’s UK Commissioner has observed, they represent….. a new and quite different entrée into crime and delinquency, with different justification values and a different perspective of safety and respect.

Therefore, the International Juvenile Justice Observatory is pleased to announce that the 5th Biennial Conference will be held at the London 2012 Olympic Park on Monday 5 to Wednesday 7 November 2012.

The conference aims to address the reality that, as a result of social and economic polarisation and global financial crises, growing numbers of children, young people and parents are finding themselves located in areas of concentrated social disadvantage on the margins of society.

To read more about the convention, please see here.

In the USA our colleagues are struggling to achieve recognition and a fair pay for what they do.  This is an extract of the most recent newsletter from the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) in America:

“The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) has been working to enhance the status of direct support professionals and promote the development of a highly competent human services workforce for more than fifteen years. As the leading advocacy organization that represents 1.2 million direct support professionals who support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, we strongly support the United States Department of Labor’s proposed regulations (RIN 1235-AA05) to ensure that all direct support workers receive the same labor protections as other American workers.

Fewer people are being drawn to direct support as a career due to extremely low entry-level wages, where the national average is $9.40 per hour, while turnover and vacancy rates remains extraordinarily high. Given that the average Direct Support Professional may be a single parent of two children or more, many of these workers qualify for public assistance, are uninsured and are forced to work more than one job to make ends meet.”

To learn more about the issues and problems faced by our American colleagues, continue reading here.

Fair Start – a free e-learning and organizational development program for orphanages and foster families in quality care giving.

The free online education program in quality orphan care is now spreading from Europe to 3rd World countries.

The program was developed in the European Union project www.fairstart.net and tested by orphanages and foster family managers in 7 EU countries for two years, before launching the 15 session education www.fairstart.net/training  for staffs and orphan care leaders, in 8 language versions (English, German, Romanian, Turkish, Spanish, Italian, Catalan and Greek).

The sessions demonstrate quality infant stimulation, attachment based care and social organization of daily life to ensure continuity in care. Video examples of quality care – produced by participants – makes the program hands-on and practical, it’s child care research transformed into simple principles of quality care. Have a look!

Thanks to volunteer researchers and caregivers, many new language versions are being produced: Arabian, Brazilian Portuguese, Bahasa (Indonesia), Bulgarian, Burmese, Egyptian, Ethiopian, French, Hungarian, Karen, Latvian, Persian, Polish, Russian, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Mandarin Chinese, Urdu, Vietnamese.

In this paper, read further about the background of Fair Start and find instructions on how to use www.fairstart.net/training for educational and organizational development. Feel free to use this tool for your professional development and child care work.

For those of you who understand French, the Swiss series “Les editions ies” have released a new book that focuses on the educational activities created for and performed by adults with intellectual disabilities.

La vitalisation au cœr de l’intervention – Analyse d’activités éducatives auprès d’adultes en situation de handicap psychique

To read more about the book and make your order, please see the flyer.

APEG, the national federation of social educators in Luxembourg who are hosting the World congress in 2013, have published their 2^nd newsletter about the progress in preparations for the congress.

18th January: Meeting with the Minister of Family and Integration and with the Minister of Gender Equality and Tourism

Five members representing the Organization Committee of World Congress 2013 have been received by Mrs Jacobs, Minister of Family and Integration and Mrs Hetto-Gaasch, social pedagogue and Minister of Gender Equality and Tourism.  In a very friendly atmosphere, the first budget estimation has been introduced to the two ministers, who consider themselves as partners who try to take responsibility for the success of AIEJI World Congress next year. Representative for the government of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, the two ministers will stand up for some financial support for the realization of the event. During the next weeks, the OC will work on more detailed financial estimations concerning major costs of the event in order to present a new version of the budget for the end of February.

To read more, go to the APEG’s website.