The placement of the child into a professional family is carried out within the framework of an individual plan of work with the family and takes place in cases when families have no one else to care for the child, such as:
- parents need urgent or planned hospital treatment;
- parents need to complete a rehabilitation programme;
- parents are temporarily not able to provide care for the child;
- parents need to address inadequate sanitation and hygiene conditions;
- other similar issues.
Professional families are specially selected and trained people who in their home, in a family environment provide care for children who have experienced separation, trauma and/or violence. P4EC staff provide support and ensure quality control of each placement.
P4EC Service Coordinators monitor the process to ensure that the child’s developmental and other needs are met. Care provided by a professional family has positive impact on the child’s wellbeing and development. It is a cost-effective alternative to formal residential care that meets the individual needs of a child.
Natalia Markova is playing with the child who temporarily lived in her family in April-May 2019
Here is what professional families say:
«I decided to become a professional family because I love children and I enjoy looking after them. Because these children need our help, and not just the children but their parents as well. Doing good things for others always makes me feel positive, particularly where it involves children.” – Marianna Yekimova
There are four children in the Yekimov family – they had two children and then adopted two more. They started working as a professional family in 2015, taking in children for a period from a few days to several months. In certain cases, two and even four children from a specific family needed help simultaneously. Since then 16 children aged from 0 to 10 enjoyed the love and care of this family
The Yekimov Family
