Social Activities and Practices Institute (SAPI)

/ Social Activities and Practices Institute
1606 Sofia, 22 Lulin planina str., Tel./fаx:+359 2 8524713, + 359 2 9533147
;

CAPACITY STATEMENT

Social Activities and Practices Institute (SAPI)

1. Initial court registration

Association “Social Activities and Practices Institute” is a non-profit organization registered in compliance with the Bulgarian legislation. Decision № 1 /5.03.2001 Firm Case № 11505/2000 SOFIA CITY COURT

Re-registration in community favor. Decision № 2 /26.02.2004.

Firm Case № 11505/2000 SOFIACITY COURT

Re-registration Decision № 3 /09.01.2006

Firm Case № 11505/2000 SOFIACITY COURT

Re-registration Decision № 4 /24.10.2007

Firm Case № 11505/2000 SOFIACITY COURT

Re-registration Decision № 5 /30.05.2008

Firm Case № 11505/2000 SOFIACITY COURT

2. Bulstat No.

130507277

4. National Court Register number

1221170446

5. Name, surname and family name and civil registration number of the person representingSAPI

Nelly Lyudmilova Petrova-Dimitrova, CRN 5603016470

6. Members of the Management Board of the applicant

Name / Profession / Functions
Nelly Lyudmilova Petrova-
Dimitrova / Associate Professor, Dr.,
Lecturer in social work / Chairperson of the MB
Nadja IvanovaStoikova / Social worker / Executive director
Georgе VassilevBogdanov / Consultant in community social work / Program director
Diana Ruseva / Psychologist / Program director
Katerina Sergienkova / Administrator / Administrative Ass. and HR

7. The goals of the association

1. Development and improvement of the social strategies and practices

2. Increasing the quality of vocational training, qualification, supplementary qualification and re-qualification of people from the helping professions

3. Study of the policies, strategies and practices of social activities

4. Optimal functioning and introduction of innovative practices of the social activities in Bulgaria

5. Promotion of the interaction and coordination between institutions and organizations in the field of training and practices of social activities.

Main activities for achievement of the goals:

Development and implementation of programs for supplementary vocational training of people from the helping professions in cooperation with the higher educational establishments and other educational organizations in the country and abroad;
Development of projects for qualification standards, professional standards and profiles of the helping professions;
Development and implementation of programs for training of trainers in social activities;
Development, approbation and delivery of social services for individuals, groups and communities, development and introduction of new programs, methods, techniques and means of social work;
Development and implementation of projects for the creation of local, regional and national networks in the field of training in social work and social activity practices;
Carrying out of explorations and expert assessments of policies, strategies and practices in the field of training in social work and social activity practices, of comparative studies of policies, strategies and practices in other countries;
Organization and holding of thematic conferences and seminars, development and dissemination of information and methodological materials, partnership and cooperation in the development and implementation of projects and programs with other institutions and organizations in the country and abroad, international exchange of experience with related organizations.
Organization offers social services to children and families as a result of its registration by MLSP, Agency for Social Assistance (ASA) for the provision of social services (License # 55 A – A centre for temporary accommodation; Protected homes; A centre for social rehabilitation and integration and a license from SACP for services to children and families – Unit mother and baby, #0009 and socio-pedagogical consultation of children with behavioural problems and their parents, #0010).

8. Organizational capacity

Member of the National Council for Child Protection, Euro Child, SMES Europe, National Network for Children - Bulgaria

8.1 Professional staff

60 social workers, psychologists, educators and supporters employed in Sofia, Shoumen and Pazardjik
5 Projects managers - full time employed
4 Projects assistant - full time employed
1 Office manager - full time employed
17 Experts
2 Accountant

8.2 Structure

8.2.1Center for Technical Assistance and Training at SAPI

Found in 2002, the center for technical help and education proposes great choice of methodical materials, educational programs for social workers and other specialists working with children and teenagers. As a result of all carried out projects, SAPI owns a Centre for technical Assistance and Training with developed and approbated programs for basic skills in social work, social work with children, with children having behavioral problems and with offenders. The Centre has been equipped with contemporary means of training- a training hall, video technique, presentation technique. Part of the contributors of SAPI is trainers from Child Protection Department on the project “Improvement of the welfare of children in Bulgaria”. Those who have finished the training program receive a certificate for uptate qualification or partial qualification, because SAPI has a license from NAPOO for professional education for the qualification “Social worker”, in particular for “Social services for children and families put at risk” and “Social services for children and adults with disabilities” and qualification for “Help-educator” in particular for “Help-educator in raising children”.

The Center for technical support and training in Sofia offers the following services:

Training - developed and approbated modular training programs on the Basic skills for social work; social work on a case; group social work; supervision and intervision in social working; socio-pedagogical consultation; research, assessment, and planning in the work with young law offenders; social work with prisoners, etc. More than 800 social workers, psychologists, and trainers have passed the training based on the programs of the center.
Researches and assessments - five researches within the frameworks of local and regional project have been carried out and two national research.
Consultation of children and families - the clients come by their own wish or by the prescription of the departments for child protection.
Supervisionoftheprofessionalsfromthehelpingprofessions – for 2005 SAPI carried out 1424 hours individual and group supervision for social workers. Since May 2006 SAPI has a registration and a permission to be supervisor. Now SAPI have a team from 8 supervisors that had passed training for supervisors.
Related to the center is a Laboratory CIEN for the support of the professionals from the multidisciplinary teams working with children with behavioral problems. It is a part of a network of laboratories CIEN, working in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Armenia, Russia and so forth.

8.2.2. YouthProbationCenter in Gabrovo

The created Centre provides the following activities and services:

- Assessment of a pre-sentence report/report for an educative case

- Management of a case

- Specialized programs

- Social and educational services (counseling children and parents)

- Legal counseling to children and parents

8.2.3. Centre for Family Support in Gabrovo

The Centre provides the following services:

-Shelter - the opportunity for the mothers to live in the Centre together with her baby, to use the kitchen and the sitting room. Part of the expenses is covered by the mothers themselves. The mothers can use this service of the Centre for no more than six months. The terms for stay in the Centre are contracted between the Centre and the client in a written agreement.

-Informing and counseling - legal, health, social and pedagogical, professional and educational. The services are offered by different members of the Center’s team and of the multidisciplinary team depending on the needs assessment and on the adopted individual plan.

-Mediation - family mediation, employment mediation. The service is provided by members of the team.

-Programs for social competence development- skills for nursing and educating the child; skills for problems solution; skills for looking for job; skills for communication and interpersonally cooperation. The programs are realized through working in a group with participants clients of the Centre. The group is led by trained members of the team.

8.2.4. Laboratory for Child Exploration – /CIEN - Que veuillent dire les adolescents delinquentes?/

It appeared in response to needs of a more thorough study of the cases, with which the four centers for youth probation work on the part of the SAPI’s team. The Laboratory was created with the assistance of Freudian Field Laboratories CIEN, France and Laboratory “To grow up without parents”, Bulgaria. Contributors of SAPI working directly with children and participating in the training programs of the institute, take part in it.

Leaders- Philip Lakade and Nelly Petrova.

8.2.5. Charity shop DAR in Shoumen

The first charity shop in Bulgaria opens in the town of Shoumen. Social Activities and Practices Institute (SAPI) is a non-government organization determined to continue developing the social services not financed by the state budget. This is exactly the reason why the SAPI team initiated its social enterprise project for setting up a charity shop DAR (gift). Some English friends of ours came to the aid and raised almost 4000 pounds by organizing on 4 March 2006 a charity biking contest in London. The social worker Ms. Gill Timmis, made all the arrangements and our special thanks to all who gave one thing or another to make sure we open the doors of DAR shop.

The charity shop is staffed by volunteers and the goods to be sold will be donated by citizens and companies. Donations could be new and second-hand articles, books, furniture, equipment, clothes, adornments, souvenirs, audio cassettes, CDs, video cassettes, DVDs, other equipment, goods will minor flaws, etc. The raised funds will be used to support children without families in Shoumen municipality by developing a new type of social service for children. A report on the raised funds and their spending will be posted in the store and on the web page of SAPI every month. Specific cases of children and families whom we helped by implementing this activity will be presented too.

Why exactly Shoumen and not Sofia or somewhere else? Because SAPI implements part of its operations by working with Shoumen children and families at risk. The local team there comprises 25 employees on payroll, primarily social workers, psychologists and educators, and 53 volunteers involved in the various services provided. At the Complex we provide help to children who drop out of school, children victims of abuse, we support parents to enable them cope with the various family-related challenges, we help young pregnant girls and mothers at risk of abandoning their children. We wish to become more successful in what we are doing and so we launched the about the DAR charity shop

Project manager

George Bogdanov

9. Brief description of realized projects

“Training of the local commissions members in the field of international standards for the protection of children and juvenile offenders” 2001-2002.

The project has been directed to training of local bodies taking decisions on measures to counter child and youth crime. The aim of the project is to raise the professional competence of the members of local commissions for combating the antisocial acts of minors and juveniles in the towns Pleven, Lovech and Gabrovo, in the field of international standards and their turning into an actual regulator of professional conduct.

The project results are: individualization of the educative measures applied by the commissions and raising of their effectiveness, improvement of the cooperation between the local commissions, and the departments on child protection and the police. The project duration was 12 months. A donor of the project were COLPI program and Open Society Foundation

Project value: 14 930 $

“Improvement of the quality of social work in prisons” 2001-2002

The major aim of the project is the raising of the professional competence of social workers in prison in the social work with an individual case- case study, assessment of needs and risk, sentence planning. Due to this project, with the adoption of the amendments to the Execution of Sentences Act, there is a prepared team in every prison for starting the risk and needs assessment of every newly admitted prisoner and for planning of the sentence.

This project was carried out with the financial support of Open Society Foundation and COLPI program, Budapest.

The length of the project is 12 months, from August 2001 to August 2002.

Ten seminars have been held- nine of them with 60 participants and one with 15 participants for training supervisors (professional consultants) on the OASys (Offender Assessment System) program. A methodological aid for case work and use of the program has been issued.

*Project value: $34807

“Training in international standards of law administration for juvenile offenders”2002-2003

There have been held three seminars with 20 participants on: The international standards for working with juvenile offenders- a regulator of professional conduct; Casework and preparation of a report; Alternatives to isolation and treatment of juvenile offenders in their ordinary environment. A conference for engaging the local authorities and institutions with the prevention of youth crime was held at the end of the project. The project had a duration of 12 months and was realized with the financial support of COLPI program and Open Society Foundation. A book was published: “Training in international standards of law administration for juveniles of members of local commissions for combating the antisocial acts of minors and juveniles”.

*Project value: $ 26 810

“Center for Technical Support”2002

According to the 1985 Standard Minimum Rules for the administration of juvenile justice, its aims are to emphasize the well-being of the juvenile and to ensure that any reaction to juvenile offenders is in proportion to the circumstances of both the offender and the offences.

The Rules also point that the strictly punitive approaches are not appropriate. A model for improved juvenile justice has been developed and applied.

As a result of the project, a Centre for Technical Support to projects and activities in the field of juvenile justice and children in conflict with the law has been set up at the SAPI.

The project has been financed by UNDP.

*Project value:$5000

“Help for Self-help- setting up a support centre for mothers and their children”2002-2003

The aim of the project is to prevent child abandonment by providing services for single mothers. As a result of the project, a house for temporary accommodation was set up, whose capacity allows supporting 7 single mothers and their babies, preparing them for an independent life. Part of the centre activities will be directed to the support of pregnant women who are at risk to abandon their children. Within the framework of the project a network for rendering support was created, the capacity of the asylum’s staff for direct working with the target group was developed as well as the system of mutual assistance between the direct participants in the project.

Partners in the project’s implementation are the Regional Institute of Social Work- Loraine- France and GabrovoMunicipality.

The centre for family support “Help for Self-help” is the first one in the country, which offers shelter to young mothers and their babies. The project includes the following main activities:

Study of the experience of France in the field of child and family protection and acquaintance with concrete practices;
Development of methodology of work at the centre together with the French partner;
Selection and formation of a multidisciplinary team for work at the future centre;
Development and implementation of a training program of four modules by the members of the multidisciplinary team in cooperation with the French partner;
Building up and furnishing a Centre for Family Support together with GabrovoMunicipality, Social Assistance Directorate, Child Protection Department, and donors.

The centre for family support “Help for Self-help” assumes as its mission the prevention of child nursing in institutions. We consider that children should be brought up by relatives who love them and take good care of them.

The purpose of our Centre is to render support and assistance to families in a state of crisis- young mothers who are compelled to leave their babies in an institution, because they have no opportunity to bring them up by themselves; single parents who need help for the bringing up of their children; families facing difficulties with the bringing up and education of their children. Although the main target group are single mothers, we consider that the name Centre for Family Support is suitable, because, on the one hand, a mother and her baby are already a family and, on the other hand, we want to avoid stigmatization of clients.

The Centre has a capacity for sheltering 7-8 mothers and their babies. The other services are offered to all who need them.

The project is funded by Phare ACCESS program and was of a 10-month duration.

With its completion there were published a folder and a manual for persons working with parents “How to help?”

*Project value: € 33 336.40

“Help for Self-help”2003

The project is directed to gaining sustainability in the provision of alternative service for the prevention of the leaving of babies to be nursed in an institution. The service (shelter to pregnant women at risk and single mothers with newly born babies, individualized support to single parents, mediationb and counseling of parents and families in crisis) is prvided by the Municipal Centre for support to families in crisis “Help for Self-help”.

The users of the service are:

Young waiting and present mothers at risk (mainly single mothers) in the period immediately before and after the birth of the child;
Parents who bring up their children by themselves- all kinds of services of the Centre, with the exception of shelter, can also be offered to other parents who bring up their children alone and need such services.

The Agency for Social Assistance at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy allotted funds for salaries and maintenance of the Centre for 4 months, after which a decision was taken that the Centre becomes state dependant and remains under the methodological guidance of SAPI.