Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, Berkeley, 2007. / Adviser: Eileen Gambrill. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [38]-43)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-160).

In Lithuania the problem of left and unkept children (with damaged primary parents-children social ties) guardianship is very acute. During the recent years forming the policy of the social protection of the children left without parents‘ guardianship the main attention is allotted to stimulation of guardianship in the family and of integration to the biological family. But the family policy in Lithuania is not organized on the regular basis and is not sufficiently supported financially. Every year the number of the children‘s guardianship institutions is growing. During the recent years the number of such children is around 13 thousand. Even more poor states have no such number of the children‘s guardianship institutions as Lithuania. This problem is not that acute both in Latvia and Estonia. It is not that easy to create the conditions not only for smooth but even for necessary development of the children‘s cognitive and emotional- social health. As many as 80 percent of children in the guardianship institutions have their biological families but they spend the whole period of their early and further development till they finish secondary school in the guardianship institutions. One of the main reasons why children lost the parents‘ guardianship was that they lived in the families of social risk. The children in the guardianship institutions face multiple separations, loses, their main primary and the most important parents‘ – children social ties are damaged... [to full text]

Ugdymo sociologijos magistro baigiamojo darbo tema yra aktuali, nes staigūs socialiniai pokyčiai Lietuvoje padarė įtaką daugelio žmonių gyvenimui. Atsirado disfunkcinių, socialinės rizikos šeimų, kurios dažnai tampa įvairių neigiamų reiškinių priežastimi. Pagausėjo skyrybų arba šeimų, kurių nariai nuolatos išgyvena konfliktus, smurtą, prievartą ir panašiai. Tokiose šeimose augantys vaikai patys linkę smurtauti, nesugeba sutvardyti pykčio, sunkiai adaptuojasi kolektyve, turi mokymosi problemų, dažniau linkę į savižudybę. Vaikų dienos centrai – tai įstaigos, kurios teikia dienos globos, prevencines, informavimo, konsultavimo, maitinimo organizavimo bei materialinės paramos paslaugas sunkiai prisitaikiusioms prie socialinių ir ekonominių Lietuvos pokyčių šeimoms su vaikais. Šių paslaugų teikimo esmė – daryti tai, kas įmanoma, kad žmogus galėtų gyventi savarankiškai, tinkamai rūpintis savo vaikais, kad vaikai nepakliūtų į valstybines globos įstaigas ir turėtų tinkamas sąlygas gyventi biologinėse šeimose. Lietuvoje veikiantys VDC nėra unikalūs. Daugelyje Europos valstybių įvairios paskirties atviri vaikų ir jaunimo dienos centrai veikia ir yra sukaupę didžiulę patirtį. Vienus iš pavyzdinių vaikų dienos centrų veiklos modelių galima pamatyti Belgijoje, Vokietijoje ar Norvegijoje. Nuo Lietuvos centrų jie skiriasi tuo, kad daugumoje užsienio valstybių jie yra atviri visuomenei, t. y. bet kuris valstybėje gyvenantis vaikas gali jį lankyti su vaiko teisių specialistų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Sudden social changes in Lithuania have affected the lives of many people that is why the topic of this final piece of master’s studies of sociology of education is relevant these days. Dysfunctional and At-Risk families, which usually bring many negative experiences, started appearing. A number of divorces and the number of families that constantly experience conflicts, violence and constraint has increased. Children who grow up in such families incline using violence themselves, find it more difficult to control anger, have trouble learning at school, have difficulties adapting to new environment, and are also more likely to think about suicide. Children’s day centers are institutions that provide day care, consultation, food, prevention and material support for the families with children, which have difficulties adapting to new social and economic changes. The reason for these services is to do everything to help people live independently, to help and teach them to take care of their children properly, so children could stay in their biological families, and not be sent to the state orphanages. Children’s day centers in Lithuania are not unique; such institutions with diverse purposes are working in many European countries, have a lot of experience, and are open to all children. The best examples of these children’s day centers are seen in Belgium, Germany and Norway. They are different from the day centers in Lithuania in openness, in these countries every child can... [to full text]

This thesis is focusing on families at risk of social failure in the Region of Karlovy Vary. The aims of this work are outlining social situation in the Region of Karlovy Vary, mapping network of social service for families at risk of social failure and finding out the most frequent problems these families are struggle with. Outputs are the recommendations for SOS Children's Villages in Doubí in Karlovy Vary based on above presented findings that tells which services for families at risk would be advisable to set up. In theoretical part of final thesis is defined the concept of family at risk and then based on foreign experiences are cited the principles of how to work with these families. Practical part is build on study of feasibility realizes by SOS Children's Villages Association, which was finding out neediness of social services for families at risk and children in the Region of Karlovy Vary, where this organization is considering realization of programs for family support.

The present thesis is concerned with the Importance of Children's Centres influencing an active involvement of the family in the remediation process, a theme so far unexplored in this respect. The objective of the thesis is to design suitable starting points of an individual care plan of families at risk which contribute to returning the child to his or her biological family in the remediation process by way of social rehabilitation. This is fulfilled with respect to partial objectives that reveal the influence of social and pathological effects, partial characteristics of remediation of the family and services rendered, and on the basis of these findings, the author identifies the ways, methods and techniques of health and social work that are applied by Children's Centres in relation to an active involvement of parents in a social rehabilitation process. In addition, the present thesis determines aspects of the multidisciplinary help that assist in participation in the support provided, or, as the case may be, aspects that prevent such participation. The thesis is divided into two parts - theoretical and methodological. The theoretical part is engaged in the family as such, its functions, risk factors, the most common types of parental disorders in relation to a family at risk, families at risk, the contemporary status of care of children at risk. The thesis delineates in detail the forms of threats to children and the key risk factors influencing parents with respect to participation in solving the problem per se. The last chapter scrutinizes the problem of family remediation, its characteristics and stages. Further, the last chapter focuses on activities of "Dětské centrum Jihočeského kraje, o.p.s." [Children's Centre of the South Bohemian Region, public service company] in Strakonice and the social rehabilitation service the Centre provides - ways, methods and techniques of health and social work with families at risk. The content of the methodological part gives an explanation of the importance of the Children's Centre influencing an active involvement of parents in the remediation process using social rehabilitation, by applying the method of a semi-conducted interview as a primary technique of data collection. The data acquired are analysed and interpreted in Chapter eight. Chapter nine presents starting points for an individual care plan that serve, in compliance with the rules enumerated, as a functional tool for achieving an active involvement of parents in the social rehabilitation process. The final chapter concludes and further clarifies the problems at issue.