News

News

Working meeting in Lithuania

On May 9-10, 2023, a working meeting was held on the “Conscious Parent Academy – Replacement parent urgently needed!” project. The meeting took place in Vilnius, Lithuania. All partners met on site, i.e.:

  • Foundation for education SMART,
  • Municipal social welfare Center from Żory,
  • Instituto de Apoio à Criança,
  • Viešoji įstaiga Mano šeimos akademija.

On the first day, the Foundation SMART presented all the achievements to date, then the upcoming events were discussed. After the coffee break, we managed to discuss the budget and all the required project documentation, we also talked about the final report and the most important issues related to it. At the end of the day there was a summary and a question and answer session.
On the second day, the Foundation

SMART presented the final graphic versions of the helpdesks, it was time for a fruitful discussion and exchange of views on the visual version of our project results.
After the coffee break, the following webinars were presented:

  •  psychopedagogy of trauma,
  • professional burnout,
  • legal aspects of foster care,

The partners had the opportunity to evaluate the final version of the materials. At the end of the day there was a summary of the meeting.
News

Dissemination Conference – Żory, Poland

On April 26, 2023. a conference was held in the Municipal Public Library in Żory, which was organized as part of the project “Academy of a conscious parent – A substitute parent urgently wanted!”

The organizers of the training were the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Żory. The conference was attended by about 100 people, including Waldemar Socha – Mayor of Żory, Jacek Świerkocki – Plenipotentiary of the Mayor of Żory for social affairs, representatives of the Żory City Council, employees of the Żory City Hall, representatives of public and private educational institutions, local government units, District Office in Żory, Municipal Police Headquarters in Żory, representatives of the Social Welfare Center in Rybnik and Jastrzębie Zdrój and professional foster families operating in our City.

The conference was devoted primarily to the promotion of foster parenthood and issues related to the implementation of tasks resulting from the Act on supporting the family and the foster care system, including family assistants. Speeches in the conference were given by Cezery Podsiadlik – President of the District Court in Żory, Ewa Bartosińska – representative of the SMART Foundation from Opole, Katarzyna Koszykyła-Hus – Deputy Director of the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Żory and Joanna Zgoda – Coordinator of the Environmental Assistance Department of the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Żory. The conference was led by Weronika Cębrzyna – Director of the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Żory.

The tasty gastronomic setting during the event was provided by the Oberyba Restaurant run by the Wspólna Pasja Vocational Activity Center in Żory and the Social Integration Center operating as part of the Żory Center for Non-Governmental Organizations.

The event took place as part of the project “Academy of a conscious parent – a substitute parent urgently wanted!” – project number 2020-1-PL01-KA204-082283.
News

Training in Portugal for Foster Families: “Working with children with special/specific needs”

Training for foster families on “Working with children with special/specific needs” was held in Lisbon, Portugal, from February 27th to March 3rd, 2023. The hosts of the training were the Portuguese partners from Instituto de Apoio à Criança (IAC).

The training started with a brief presentation of IAC, as well as a presentation of the foster families.

During the week the following subjects were addressed:

  • Foster Care in Portugal.
  • The role of foster families: Competencies and success in Foster Care.
  • Management and promotion of Children’s and Youth’s needs and well-being.
  • Management and promotion of Children’s and Youth’s relationships with others.
  • Management of personal competencies and emotions as a Foster Family/Caregiver.
  • The challenges of Children in Foster Care: What to expect from the unexpected?

The theoretical presentation was complemented by a workgroup and several videos to encourage reflection and debate.

On the last day certificates confirming participation in the training were handed out.

All participants rated this training as very good and gave positive feedback.
News, Stationary trainings for foster families

Training for foster families in Poland – “Initial building of good relations between foster parents and children”

From 23 to 27 January 2023. in Żory, Poland, a training entitled “Initial building of good relations between foster parents and children” was held for foster families from Poland, Portugal and Lithuania. The training was conducted as part of the project „Conscious Parent Academy – Replacement parent urgently needed!” project number 2020-1-PL01-KA204-082283.

During the training, participants gained knowledge on the following topics:

  • organization of foster care in Poland,
  • building good relations between foster parents and children,
  • upbringing in a foster family,
  • building good relationships in a peer group.

The above topics were discussed during:

– training classes at the Municipal Library in Żory,
– study visits to professional foster families from Żory,
– study visit to the day support center – Children’s Home “Horyzont” in Żory.

During the workshops in the “Horyzont” Hall, all participants took part in active intercultural and intergenerational integration using the “Klanz” method, which is based on multidirectional activity combining movement, music, dance, art and cognitive activities. The following were used for this purpose:

– games related to the organization of initial situations (establishing contact with the group),
– playing with an animated scarf, during which the participants additionally learned the names of colors in different languages ​​(English, Polish, Lithuanian, Portuguese and Ukrainian).

Families were also presented with the forms used in sociotherapy concerning work on emotions and team integration. Participants learned what primary emotions are and how to call these emotions in the above context. The tools used in team building, i.e. the circle of communication and the circle of cooperation, were also discussed.

During the training, the foster families, in addition to expanding their knowledge, had the opportunity to visit the City of Żory, the City Museum in Żory, the Historic Ignacy Mine in Rybnik, the Historic Palace and Park Complex in Pszczyna, the European Bison Farm and the open-air museum in Pszczyna and historic Krakow.

“I think that the training for foster families was very good, fruitful and useful. Thanks to this training, foster families could learn about the functioning of foster care in another country, thanks to which they can understand, appreciate and see the differences and similarities. In addition, foster families had the opportunity to share their own thoughts, observations and problems resulting from performing their functions, thanks to a joint conversation they understood that they are not alone and all foster families face similar problems. I also consider the classes in the “Horyzont” common room to be very successful, where there was a lot of integration through fun and laughter. Many tasks related to building relationships, trust, recognizing emotions and their meaning. It was a nice experience because of multiculturalism – a lot of positive emotions and breaking down barriers in relationships.” – said one of the trainers about the training.

Each day the participants of the training became more and more integrated with each other and with the teachers. Participants of the classes gained a lot of practical knowledge and techniques of building good relationships that they will be able to use in their families.
News

Good relationships are the basis of a happy family

On January 23, 2023. foster families started a training course entitled “Training – Initial building of good relationships between foster parents and children.” implemented within the project
„Conscious Parent Academy – Replacement parent urgently needed!” project number 2020-1-PL01-KA204-082283.

Thanks to the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Żory acting as a host organization, foster families from Lithuania, Portugal and Poland have the opportunity to expand their knowledge on building relationships between foster parents and children. Each of the participants takes the classes very seriously, because they are aware of the importance of creating a positive relationship with the child. In the case of a foster parent, the relationship between him and the ward requires special care to be strong and durable.

We hope that the training will be fruitful, and that the families taking part in it will gain a lot of useful knowledge that they will be able to use and share with their loved ones.
News

Summary of the training under the project “Academy of Conscious Parent – Foster parent urgently needed!”

Training for employees under the project “Conscious Parent Academy – Replacement parent urgently needed!” – 2020-1-PL01-KA204-082283 has ended. Let us recall that the host organization was the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Żory, and the subject of the training was “Legal conditions for the functioning of foster care in the partner countries”. The training was attended by employees from:

  • IAC – Instituto de Apoio à Criança
  • Mano šeimos akademija
  • Municipal Social Welfare Center in Żory

During these 5 days, the participants broadened their knowledge of the following topics:

  • What legal actions are taken in individual countries to secure children from biological families and transfer them to a foster family,
  • Ways to promote foster families in individual countries,
  • Organization of foster care and adoption in Poland,
  • Family foster care: the first days of a child in foster care, activities aimed at referring a child for adoption. Overview of actions taken in individual States,
  • How to prepare a child for return to the biological family and who are the family assistants.

During the training, the employees had the opportunity, in addition to broadening their knowledge, to get to know the city of Żory and the surrounding attractions, such as:

  • The City Museum in Żory,
  • Kapias Gardens,
  • Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum,
  • Castle in Pszczyna.

It was a time full of work and activity. The institution’s employees shared their experiences and knowledge that will be necessary for everyday work in their profession. Certificates confirming participation in the training were also awarded.
News

Training as part of the project “Conscious Parent Academy – Replacement parent urgently needed!” it has began!

Yesterday, a 5-day training course for employees on the project “Conscious Parent Academy – Replacement parent urgently needed!” – 2020-1-PL01-KA204-082283 began. The host organization is the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Żory. The subject of the meeting is the legal conditions for the functioning of foster care in partner countries. During this training, employees from:

  • IAC – Instituto de Apoio à Criança
  • Mano šeimos akademija
  • Foster care Municipal Social Welfare Center in Żory

They will find out:

  • What legal actions are taken in individual countries to protect children from biological families and transfer them to a foster family,
  • Ways to promote foster families in individual countries

We hope that the training will be very fruitful, full of new knowledge and exchange of experiences between institutions.

Wait for the training summary not long.
News

Training for employees on “Interpersonal communication”

Training for employees on “Interpersonal communication” was held in Portugal on May 2-6. The hosts of the training were Portuguese partners from Instituto de Apoio à Criança. The meeting was attended by employees from:

  • Municipal social welfare Center from Żory,
  • Instituto de Apoio à Criança,
  • Viešoji įstaiga Mano šeimos akademija.

The training lasted 5 days, the first two days was conducted by a team from Portugal on:

  • What is interpersonal communication?
  • Competencies associated with interpersonal communication,
  • How to improve communication between professionals, foster families, children and youth.

On the third day, the Polish team presented issues related to:

  • How to effectively manage interpersonal communication in conflict situations.

The Lithuanian team devoted the fourth day to:

  • Assertiveness, aggression or submission in interpersonal communication.

The last day was to sum up the training and discuss the new knowledge gained. There was also time to talk about the future “help-desk”. All employees obtained valuable and necessary knowledge, which is necessary for everyday work in their profession, and certificates confirming participation in the training were also handed out.
Dissemination, News

International conference

The Social Welfare Center in Żory participates in the Erasmus+ project entitled “Academy of conscious parenting. “The project aims to increase knowledge and skills in raising foster parents. Its aim is to improve knowledge and parenting skills of foster parents as well as to develop competencies of MOPS employees supporting those parents. On April 30th another conference took place within this project.

Within the framework of the project, Katarzyna Kosztyła-Hus, deputy director of the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Żory, and Katarzyna Kaniepień, manager of the Provincial Adoption Center in Katowice, branch in Rybnik, took part in an international conference organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in Lithuania titled “Užsienio šalių šalių”. “Užsienio šalių vaikų globos sistemos ir patirtys”, which means “Child care systems and different experiences of foreign countries”. The conference was held in online format.

Katarzyna Kosztyła-Hus and Katarzyna Kaniepień in their speeches talked about the organization of foster care and adoption in Poland. They also touched upon the issue of providing care to Ukrainian children coming to Poland without legal guardians due to the armed conflict.

Presentations on foster care and adoption were also given by specialists from Lithuania and the United Kingdom, and for the first time additionally by specialists from France and the United States. More than 500 viewers participated in the online conference. The participation of the Social Welfare Center in Żory in the international conference was possible thanks to the realization of the project within the Erasmus + Program entitled “Academy of Conscious Parenting”. The participation of the Social Welfare Center in Żory in the international conference was possible thanks to the realization of the project within the Erasmus + Program entitled “Academy of Conscious Parent – a parent as a substitute urgently needed”.

Click to see the presentation
News

This is already half of the project!

Half of the project is behind us and we are not slowing down!
The “Project „Conscious Parent Academy – Replacement parent urgently needed!” project brings very good results and we are very pleased with the opportunities that this project opens up for us.

Thanks to the project, we make participants aware of the situation of foster care in Poland, Portugal and Lithuania. We increase participants’ knowledge of foster care and promote it internationally.
Currently, we are working on webinars and helpdesks, which we will be able to share with you at the end of the project.
Stay tuned!