The Trade Union "Education" at Confederation of Labor "Podkrepa", in partnership with the State Agency for Child Protection and Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation started the implementation of a new project "Strengthening the child protection system in Bulgaria through capacity building of professionals from the fields of social services, education and police". The project is co-funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union, Contract No. 881732 - STRENGHTEN - REC-AG-2019/REC-RDAP-GBV-AG-2019. Start date 1 April 2020 and duration 24 months.
The main objective of the project is to increase the capacity of the responsible institutions through training of the professionals working in them as well as improving their coordination. The project foresees 28 regional trainings in all regional centers of the country. The training program will be developed on the basis of a needs assessment of the professionals and will cover those working in the Child Protection and Social Services Departments: psychologists, police officers, teachers, mediators, etc. The project partners will engage child rights experts with strong international experience to support the development of the training program.
The trainings will form knowledge, skills and attitudes among professionals from different units in the child protection system to apply a strengths-based approach to supporting victims of violence, as well as to use some restorative justice methods to resolve family conflicts that threaten the child's safety. The project also foresees the development of an impact assessment tool. It will be implemented 6 months after the completion of the first trainings to assess their short-term impact.
The main expected outcome is increased cooperation between the different units of the national child protection system, as well as improved understanding of the long-term impact of adverse childhood experiences on the lives of children and young people.