CONTENT AND TECHNOLOGICAL SUPPORT OF SOCIAL WORK WITH A CHILD ARRANGED IN THE FAMILY OF A FOSTER CARER

Abstract

The article reveals the problem of development of social service of patronage over children. The issue of increasing the efficiency of content and technological support of social work with a child in the family of a foster carer has been raised. The purpose of the article is to determine the content accents, as well as effective forms and methods of social work with a child who is placed in the family of a foster carer. A set of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization), as well as empirical methods were used: survey (questionnaire and interview), conversation. To collect empirical data, a qualitative study was conducted, which involved foster carers and social workers who care for foster families in the Kyiv region. It was found that foster care of children is an innovative socio-pedagogical system of interactions of social specialists, foster carers, parents, relatives of a child who found himself/herself in difficult life circumstances. The peculiarities of the content of social work with a child who is provided with foster care services through a number of functions of foster carers are characterized. It is emphasized that the content of social work with a child who is provided with foster care services is primarily determined by the functions of foster carers in relation to: 1) the child is placed under foster care; 2) the biological family of the child; 3) a potential family to which the child may be placed in the future. According to the functions, foster carers must have a set of knowledge and skills. Requests of foster carers and difficulties of their work are revealed. According to the results of the survey of foster carers and social workers, it was found that the main problems in providing foster care services are related to the child's habituation to the foster family; insufficient willingness of foster carers to use appropriate and modern forms and methods of work, in particular, to prevent injury to the child during the transfer to family care or return to the biological family, to provide psychological assistance to the ‘difficult’ child, guilt, deviant behavior. The forms and methods used by foster carers during the provision of foster care services are analyzed, as well as their motivation to increase their own competence. It is concluded that the psychological and pedagogical assistance to the child in overcoming the psycho-traumatic experience is a pronounced semantic emphasis in the social work with the child placed in the family of foster parents. It is noted that the selection of methods and specific forms should be carried out taking into account the age of the child, his leading activities, life situation and interests. It is established that expedient and effective forms and methods in work with the child under patronage are: psychological conversation, method of active listening, fairy-tale therapy, game therapy, art therapy, music therapy. Such methods allow overcoming anxiety, fear of the child, self-doubt, confusion and distrust. Another group of appropriate methods of social work with the child includes: storytelling, method of social stories, discussion of rules of conduct during a meeting with parents; role games; method of competitions and incentives; writing letters to parents; learning poems, songs; performance of artistic and creative works (preparation of drawings or other alterations for parents); method of keeping a diary of observations of the child. It is emphasized that foster carers first of all lack the help of practical psychologists in providing patronage services to a child, as well as the development of skills of primary psychological care for a child. Recommendations for improving the quality of content and technological support for the provision of social services for child care have been developed.