Objective:
One of the challenges in the Child Protection System in Spain is to assist reunification processes. The training programs to improve the parenting are part of this assistance, but in our Spanish context we don’t have such type of resources.
This paper presents the results of a research realized in Spain, focus on specific training needs that serve to support a program that promotes positive parenting in the process of reunification within the Child Protection System. And, present the program build according the evidence based programs standards.
Method:
The study was conducted with 63 professionals with experience in residential or kinship foster care, 42 parents (34 were reunited and 4 were in process) and 30 children between 12 and 20 years old (21 were reunited and 9 were in process). Data collection was gathered through focus-groups and interviews, and it was analyzed by the technic of content analysis.
Results:
The results indicated specific needs in the family reunification process related to five major issues: type of foster care, visits and contacts, preparing returning home, earlier days at home after reunification and consolidation of the reunification. (Balsells, Pastor, Amorós, Mateos, Ponce y Navajas, 2014; Balsells, Pastor, Mateos, Vaquero y Urrea, 2015)
These needs were transformed into educational objectives to build a program to support the acquiring of specific parenting skills for family reunification.
The program is based on three pillars: a) the specific needs for the exercise of parenthood during the process of kinship foster care or residential care; b) the process of family resilience referring to a family who has successfully achieved the reunification after the intervention of the Child Protection System; c) and the participation of those involved, and especially the children whose interests are linked to know their family problems, the characteristics of intervention (child protection measure) and the potential changes in their lives. (Balsells et al., 2010; Fuentes et al., 2013; Mateos et al., 2012).
The intervention approach of the program is an individual-group methodology, which attends at the same time parents and children. The design includes the evaluation.
