Department of Psychological Evaluation and Assistance within the Child Protection and Social Assistance Neamț Dr. Psychologist Ana Hutanu

What we DO ? Activities I.Psychological Evaluation (Foster care) II.Psychological Assistance (Children and adults in the foster care system or not) III.Preliminary evaluation of childhood psychological and psychiatric disorders (before redirecting the child to a specialist)

I. Psychological Evaluation (Foster care) Psychological evaluation of the foster parents Psychological evaluation of the people who want to become foster parents, together with all the family members living with them Psychological profiling of the foster parents and family members Psychological evaluation of the child living with the foster care family or in the residential units (shelters), establishing the degree of psycho-motrical development, the level of intelligence and identifying the problems that the child and the substitute family are dealing with Organizing trainings for foster parents in the field of Child Development Psychology

II. Psychological Assistance (Children and adults in the foster care system or not) Preliminary evaluation (by means of interview and psychological tests) in order to establish the psychological needs of the child and the objectives of intervention Creating an intervention program meant to solve the problems that the child in foster care (or not) is dealing with Achieving the objectives proposed in the intervention program for psychological assistance and support Conducting individual and group meetings of psychological assistance and support in order to identify viable, long term solutions for the beneficiaries Organizing discussion groups together with the beneficiaries and their families Informing the parents regarding the most adequate parental practices, according to the situation Assuring supportive couselling and therapy for children and parents, and crisis interventions. Mediating the conflicts emerged in the beneficiary’s family system Offering specific interventions for children with special needs (cognitive-behavioral therapy, cognitive stimulation, vocational orientation, art-therapy) Providing short term therapies and psychological interventions focused on a specific aspect Offering psychological evaluation and support for the children in difficult situations in their familial, social, educational and cultural system

III. Preliminary evaluation of childhood psychological and psychiatric disorders (before redirecting the child to a specialist) Preliminary evaluation and investigation – together with a inter-disciplinary team – of the psychological and psychiatric disorders of childhood Mental retardation, stereotypical behavioral patterns Pervasive disorders of development, speech, cognitive and educational, movement, emotional and conduct, social, hyperkinetic with attention deficit, sexual identity, nutrition and other childhood and adolescence disorders Redirecting the child to a specialist

Beneficiaries Foster parents Potential foster parents Children in foster care or in their families of origin that go through a difficult situation Most beneficiaries are part of families with low socio-economical level or who beneficiate of a special protective measure such as foster care in the extended family or at shelters.

Selection of beneficiaries Usually children under 18 or under 26 in case of a special protective measure (foster care in a family or at a shelter) Admission:  direct identification made by our specialists  request from the Child Protection and Social Assistance institutions in the Neamţ County area (general and local authorities), medical professionals  direct request from shelters Regardless of the method of identification of beneficiaries, the parents or the legal tutors are guided into fulfilling a written request addressed to the General Manager of the Child Protection and Social Assistance institution of the Neamț County, in which they identify themselves, name the problem they are dealing with and leave a contact number. Are accepted for evaluation and /or psychological support children with recommendation from the medical professional diagnosed or suspicious of  Attention deficit disorder  Hiperkinetic disorder  Anxiety  Misbehaviour  Agression or with request from the educational institutions or the parent(s) / tutor (s) / legal care taker(s).

What are we here for? The department of Psychological Evaluation and Assistance within the Child Protection and Social Assistance of Neamț County – Romania promotes the conflict resolution through mediation. In schools, our specialists accompany the social workers when a child under protective measure or in a psychological counseling program is involved in a conflict and talk to all the parties – children, teachers, parents and foster parents – in order to identify the problem and, without blaming, to discover the best approach to the conflict that emerged.

“Usual suspects” The issues that rise most of the conflicts emerge from discrimination against the child in foster care, mostly for its unknown, alleged or prejudiced origins Other seeds of scandal appear because of educational deficits (misbehavior) that the child manifests, not having nor respecting ground rules in the family or families or shelters where he or she had been

“Usual suspects” - continuation Mediation is required also in crisis situations, when  the parent or foster parent cannot care for the child anymore and a change has to be made  the child goes through an emotional trauma (other than abuse, traffic, negligence or exploitation, which are being approached by another department)  the child is at risk of being expelled or flopped for misconduct or absence (in case of mental retardation or deficit, the child is oriented to an educational institution for children with special needs)

“Usual suspects” - continuation Among children in the foster care or in shelters, conflicts often emerge and our specialists are solicited to intervene in order to solve the crisis through mediation Children and care takers are guided into better understanding themselves and the other ones around them (using interviews, tests and techniques such role plays and demonstrative exercises) and are taught and encouraged to communicate properly according to their true needs, if they are socially and interpersonally accepted The evaluation of the mediation process is made several times: at the beginning of the program, at the end of it and in between, regarding aspects of personality, conduct, emotional and intellectual abilities, interests and vocation. Follow-ups are also part of the standard (unofficial) procedure.

Estimated results of the Project The aspects discussed and seen during these two years will be applied in the work with the beneficiaries of the Department of Psychological Evaluation and Assistance within the Child Protection and Social Assistance Neamț. The contacts that we’ve made will allow us to cooperate in future projects and keep in touch