Training
SESSION 3: CHILD WELFARE
This component of the training is designed to teach child and family community workers identification,
assessment, service planning, service linkage and intervention for orphans and vulnerable children and
their families. The philosophy of care for at-risk children and families that is taught is grounded in
relevant international and African policies and the culture of Ethiopia. The training focuses on the role
families and communities in providing the environment most likely to help children overcome trauma and
loss and to promote healthy development into productive and well-adjusted adults. This training component
integrates the content of the previous training on Groups and Communities and Family-Based Community
Development. Participants prepare a plan for integrating community development and child welfare programs
in the communities in which they work. Training Session 3 uses the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child as frameworks to examine child
welfare practice in Ethiopia. The contexts for child welfare services will be child developmental stages,
trauma-informed practice, and family and community development. Trainees will examine child welfare services
in the Ethiopian context through site visits to organizations exhibiting best practices in this area, and
identify gaps in those services. Participants will be trained in trauma-influenced practice which identifies
traumatic experiences and their effect on children’s well-being. Through early recognition, response, and an
understanding of resilience in children, participants will learn effective ways to minimize the short and long
term effects of the trauma. Participants will learn how to integrate child welfare practice and community
development principles to start up community-based programs, and use community and family assets, to meet
children’s needs within the community and family contexts. Participants will be expected to be able to develop
community-based, family-oriented child welfare programs that begin to fill in the gaps in child welfare
services in the communities in which they work.
Download the curriculum summary and schedule for Session 3.
ASSIGNMENT #3
This time, revisit the community in which you carried out the previous two assignments and go deeper to focus on and assess children’s needs. Apply the concepts and practice the skills learned in Session 3.Download Assignment 3.