Family mentoring: sharing lessons learned on piloting the state standard of The social support service revised to better address the needs of families with children experiencing difficult life circumstances

Abstract

The article delineates crucial updates pertaining to the State Standard of the social service of the social support of families / individuals experiencing difficult life circumstances — a predominant social service in Ukraine. The revised draft of the Standard was formulated by incorporating an analysis of the existing practice of the social service aligned with the current standard of 2016. This was complemented by a comprehensive review of recent normative documents regulating social services provision, alongside an exploration of international approaches in social work with vulnerable families and children. The piloting phase of the revised Standard draft spanned from May to October 2023 and encompassed 109 social services providers engaging approximately 200 social workers. Fundamental innovations introduced in the revised Standard primarily focused on refining the scope of recipients for the social service, emphasizing its content towards fostering social and parental competencies aimed at augmenting parental capability to address children's needs. Furthermore, the revision introduced the concept of a “family mentor’ approach, emphasizing collaborative, empowering, and skill-building interaction between social worker and client. Within the ambit of the draft of the revised Standard, specialized tools were devised to assess the individual needs of the social service recipient, formulate individualized plan, conduct final monitoring, and evaluate quality of social service provision. The piloting phase corroborated the relevance of the proposed changes to the current Standard, underscoring the necessity for approval of the draft Standard, with minor adjustments resulting from the piloting process.