Our organization began to implement the PRIDE program by signing the license agreement and carrying out the first trainings in 2002. At that time, there were 6,772 children placed in institutions for protective education.
We have been using PRIDE in our preparatory training for foster carers, prospective adoptive parents, professional parents, employees in foster homes, specialists and volunteers. The philosophy of the PRIDE model helped us to improve the quality of foster care by means of the awareness, development and education of people who have decided to look after children who are not their own.
In our practice, we use active family assessment, pre-service training, and we are beginning to use in-service training. For the time being we aren`t using all parts of the 14-step model of practice.
Thanks to the PRIDE program, there has been a positive change in the attitude of social workers at different levels, who are increasingly aware of the importance of guiding foster families.
The reasons we are not able to use all 14 steps include financial and personnel issues. Too many families are allocated to one worker in Slovakia. According to our experience it would be ideal if a maximum of 10 families at different stages were allocated to one worker.
Our organization is the only agency in Slovakia that implements the PRIDE program. From the beginning of the PRIDE model in Slovakia, many trainers have been prepared and we cooperate actively with approximately 60 trainers.
During the last 10 years, 2,019 employees in foster homes, 779 foster carers and adoptive parents, 652 specialists, 267 volunteers and 262 professional parents have taken part in the PRIDE model.
At the agency, the philosophy of the PRIDE model was transferred into our system of work with surrogate families, biological families and into our social work with families in crisis. After the change in the law we became an official accredited agency authorized to prepare foster carers, adoptive parents and professional parents.
At the national level, thanks to the PRIDE model, we were able to participate in the preparation and approval of the Law on Social Protection of Children and Social Prevention and take part in the deinstitutionalisation process in Slovakia. Today we can say that the PRIDE model has had a major impact on the transformation of the foster care system.
The PRIDE program is especially appreciated by the participants for its experiential character. The feedback from practice is that foster parents are more prepared for different situations and open to the further development of parenting skills.
Several employees from agencies and foster homes attended pre-service training. Thanks to PRIDE, their view of biological parents and foster parents has changed gradually in a positive way. Based on their positive attitude, the quality of services and interest of specialists to help parents has increased. We are starting to have problems with the lack of field social workers and family development specialists resulting in little interest in the implementation of foster care in Slovakia.
The formation of professional families when services are provided directly from foster homes is a positive step. Another positive step is that employees of foster homes have increased their interest in their work.
Dr. Jozef Miklosko, Chair of Úsmev ako dar (Smile as a gift), Society of friends of children from children`s homes, Ševčenkova 21851 01 Bratislava 5, Slovenská republika, info@usmev.sk