grundtvigmentor.files.wordpress.com · web viewfor overcoming difficult stages of life in...

1Deutscher Kinderschutzbund

Landesverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern e.V.Alexandrinenstr. 219055 Schwerin

Model Project: „Starthilfe“

Coaching and employment of voluntary mentors in child and youth service in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

1 The Mentoring programm

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

21.1 Introduction:

The Mentoring program „Starthilfe“ of the German child protection league is a project based on reciprocity. This means for the Mentee to get concrete support for overcoming difficult stages of life in adolescence. But there's also profit for the Mentor: through his talks with the Mentee and his family his understanding for others grows. His communicative and social abilities are strengthened.

1.2 Legal Framework

SGB VIII

§ 16 – General promotion of education in the family (excerpt)

(1) Services of general promotion of education are to be offered to mothers and fathers, other legal Guardians and young people. They shall contribute to the better fullfillment of mothers, fathers and other legal guardians educational responsibilities. They also shall show ways how situations of conflict in families can be solved non-violently.

(2) Services for the general promotion of education in the family consist especially in:

1. Offers of family education, which respond to the needs and interests as well as the experiences of families in various conditions of life and educational situations, which empower families to participate in educational institutions and in the form of self and neighbourly help, as well as prepare young people for marriage, partnership and living together with children.

2. Offers of counciling in general Questions of education and development of jung people

3. Offers of family leisure time and recreation, especially in stressful family situations, which include the educational care for children if needed.

(3) Mothers and fathers as well as pregnant women and expectant fathers shall be offered counseling and help in questions of partnership and with the development of parental educational and partnership competence.


3(elaboration to that see also: federal state law Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)

§ 27 Educational assistence et seqq.

(1) The person who has the right of care and custody has a right to support (educational assistence) with the education of a child or an adolescent, if an education that is appropriate to the welfare of the child or adolescent is not guaranteed and support for its development it appropriate and necessary.

(2) Educational assistence is granted especially in accordance with §§ 28 to 35. Kind and extent of support are oriented on the educational needs of the individual case; the close social environment of the child shall be integrated in the process...

…

(3) Educational assistence includes especially the granting of pedagogical and related therapeutical services. If needed it shall include measures of apprenticeship and employment according to § 13 Abs. 2.

…

§ 30 Parenting counselor, care assistant

The parenting counselor and the care assistant shall support the child or the adolescent with mastering problems in their development under the inclusion of their social environment if possible and promote the development of their independence while preserving the context of family life.

§ 72a Exclusion of persons with relevant criminal record from practice

(1) The providers of public youth service are not allowed to employ or place persons for the exercise of functions of child and youth service, which have been finally convicted of a criminal offence according to §§ 171,174 bis 174c, 176 bis 180a, 181a, 182 bis 184f,225, 232 bis 233a, 234, 235 or 236 d of the penal code. For this purpose they have to require the person in question to present a certificate of good conduct from the Federal Central Criminal Register according to § 30 Abs. 5 und § 30a Abs. 1 at recruitment as well as in regular intervals thereafter.

…


4

(4) The providers of public youth service shall ensure through agreements with the providers of private youth service as well as associations according to § 54, that under thier responsibility no persons are employed part-time or as volunteers in the exercise of functions of child and youth service through supervision, care, education or instruction of or in similar contact with chilren or adolescents, if he has offence according to (1) sentece 1. ...

1.3 Duration

April 1st, 2014 – March 31st, 2016 (2 years)

1.4 Kooperationspartner:

ESF-Project „LeGME“ youth offices of rural and urban districts in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

German child protectionleague, local association Rostock German child protectionleague, district association Vorpommern-Greifswald German child protectionleague, district association Stralsund German child protectionleague, district association Ludwigslust-Parchim German child protectionleague, district association Schwerin

1.5 Target Group:

Teenagers from socially underprivileged background structures leaving school without a certificate, which are charcterized by the following indicators*:

- risk of poverty- health hazards- endangerment of child welfare- missing educational access


5- insufficient participation in socio-cultural activities- marked teenage crime *hereafter called mentees

1.6 Demand Analysis:

33% of children and teenagers under 18 years of age in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern live below the defined poverty line. The following effects have been proven to be connected to that:

Impoverished children have inferior opportunity to get a good educational qualification.

Impoverished children are more impaired in their physical and mental developement.

Impoverished children have worse housing conditions.

Impoverished children are to a great extent excluded from socio-cultural participation and show more frequently deficits in their play behavior, work attitude, language competence, and inclusion into social networks.

The consequence:More than 18% of the teenagers leave school without a certificate in this federate state. With this Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has the highest percentage in Germany.

Next to structural measures for the reduction of child poverty there is a special need for individual assistanc eand support offers for the affected children and teenagers. Oftentimes, these are not in the position to break the vicious circle of poverty with their own resources. As a general rule this is only attainable through opening the access to education. For children and teenagers with migration background these symptoms are possibly amplified through language barriers as well as cultural and religious embedding.

The public child and youth service is oftentimes not able to carry out the necessary personalized assistance and support of these children and teenagers, due to a lack of human resources. This situation will be amplified through the increasing shortage of skilled workers. Additionaly has to be noted, that the financial resources of the public youth service have been predominantly concentrated on the field of 'early support'


6(Frühe Hilfen) in the last few years. The investments in offers of the open youth work are cut back for a long time now.

1.7 Aim:

Concretely it is about the development of counselling, support and relief offers for children, teenagers and their families in deprived areas.

The work and activities of voluntary mantors form a building block in the comprehensive complete program of youth service. On the one hand it is about hands-on help to mastering every day situations, on the other hand about reinforcing social and action competence. In the center, though, is the support with organising concrete access to education and apprenticeships for underprivileged young people.

1.8 Individual Requirements for Mentors:

Voluntary work in a mentoring team is a challenging task. It imposes high requirements in regard to the reliability and commitment of time of the mentors. The work sometimes requires a high amount of energy and tolerance.

All women and men of legal age are generally qualified for the employment as mentor, given they are fit for the task on the basis of their personality. They are expected to commit themselves voluntarily and responsibly. They are expected to stand by the childrens and teenagers sides, to take pressure off them and to search for solutions together with them. They need to be understanding of adolescent behaviour. They need to possess psychic resilience and have to appropriately to provocations. They are expected to be interested in and tolerant of different opinions and foreign culters and religions. They need to be empathetic and have to enjoy helping other people.

Advantageous are experiences from current or past employment in socio-pedagogical or educational professional fields. The employment as mentor is also suited to young people, which are currently pursuing a curse of study or an apprenticeship in abovementioned fields.

The mentors should be equipped with good networks in their regions. These networks can relate to the many-layered social structures, the sector of schools and apprenticeships, but also economical structures.


71.9 Selection procedure:

Before the coaching begins there will be individual interviews with the applicants, to clarify whether an employment as mentor is a possibility given the requirements and individual qualifications. The project leader of the German child protection league and an experienced mentor take part in these interviews.

There is a maximum of 10 places per coaching course (basic coaching module).

§ 72a SGB IV - Exclusion of persons with relevant criminal record from practice The German child protection league ensures that in his responsibility no persons are employed full- or part-timeare nor as volunteers in the exercise of functions of child and youth service through supervision, care, education or instruction of or in similar contact with chilren or adolescents, which have been finally convicted of a criminal offence according to §§ 171,174 bis 174c, 176 bis 180a, 181a, 182 bis 184f,225, 232 bis 233a, 234, 235 or 236 d of the penal code.

2 Employment

The employment of mentors take place in in close cooperation with the local cooperation partners. The local cooperation partener are primarily the youth offices of the 6 rural districts and the 2 urban districts in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is also possible for approved private agencies, that are entrusted with the exercise of functions of youth service, to function as local cooperation partners.

Prior to each employment a written agreement has to be concluded under the aegis of the project sponsor between the local cooperation partner, the mentor and the mentee as well as his legal guardian.

3 Funding

Funding is obtained by billing the local provider of youth service (youth office) for 'specialist service hours' (Fachleistungsstunden).

For the setup funding a one time grant application will be filed with the „Aktion Mensch“ charity .


84 Insurance

Voluntary merntors are insured within the framework of their activities through the project sponsor.

5 Quality Assurance

The model project „Starthilfe“ of state association Mecklenburg-Vorpommern of the German child protection league will be evaluated in the framework of the EU-project „Be a good mentor“.

6 Coaching Programm

6.1 Basic Coaching ModuleFür jeden künftigen Mentor ist die grundständige Schulung verpflichtend

1 coaching day (9:00 am – 07:00 pm)5 x 2 class hours

Coaching content:

- Theory and practice of counseling - Conversation techniques

- Self-reflexion and self-awareness- Questions regarding the socio-econolmic living conditions of the family of origin- child and youth welfare law- Regional counseling structures


9(school counseling/job counseling/parenting counseling/debtor counseling/child and youth counseling/drug counseling/health services)

- Regional structures of education and apprencticeship

2.2. Advanced modules

Advanced module AParticipation in advanced modules is mandatory as well 1 advanced module A = 1 x 2 class hours (07:00 pm – 09.00 pm)

There will be a monthly advanced module about various subjects

Advanced module BAdditinally there will be quarterly one-day coaching blocks on offer. Participation in these coaching units is voluntary.

Requests for subjects from the mentors will be inquired into regularly by an online procedure.

6.2 Practice Consultation

The state association Mecklenburg-Vorpommern of the German child protection league as the project sponsor offers to the mentors practice consultation through its full-time professionals. Duration, form and content have to be agreed upon by the project adership in respect to the individual case.


grundtvigmentor.files.wordpress.com · web viewfor overcoming difficult stages of life in...

Documents