Third session of the Working group for planning the Early Childhood Intervention services at the regional level held in Čakovec

On Wednesday, 26th May 2021, the third session of the Working group for planning the Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services at the regional level was held as a part of the program Phase III – Testing the Child Guarantee in Croatia, funded by the European Union, and implemented by the UNICEF Office in Croatia in partnership with the Ministry of Work, Pension System, Family and Social Policy and Međimurje County.

After a successfully completed deep-dive analysis and mapping of available service providers and resources in preschool education, healthcare and social care systems in Međimurje County for the provision of integrated and coordinated ECI services for children aged 0-7 years and their families, MAP presented the results of the research in detail to the Working group during the second online session, and all members were invited to discuss and submit comments. Shortly thereafter, members of the working group met for the third session at the Međimurje County premises in Čakovec to begin drafting the Action Plan for ECI in Međimurje County, with MAP facilitating the process. The third session was dedicated to improving services within the social care sector and to a coordinated and integrated approach to the provision of social services. At the very beginning of the session, Prof. Emerita, Ph.D. Marta Ljubešić, through an online guest appearance, presented the fundamental values and principles that the contemporary system of ECI should be guided by. Subsequently, members of the group discussed and elaborated measures and activities related to, for example, coordination of different providers providing services to the same beneficiaries, the possibility of developing a home-based provision of some social services in the child's natural environment, possible preventive activities for the development of developmental delays or disabilities in children at social and environmental risks, and similar topics related to the social welfare and social service providers. 

Image 1: Working group for planning the Early Childhood Intervention services at the regional level – group work

Three more sessions dedicated to the development of the Action Plan are ahead of the Working Group with a focus on 1) improvement of healthcare services and (re)habilitation, 2) improvement of services within preschool education system and cross-sectoral cooperation, and 3) refinement and finalization of measures and activities in the Action Plan. After drafting the plan, there will be a pilot year of implementation of the Action Plan’s measures, after which the Working group will meet again so that the members can share their experiences and, if necessary, further elaborate on the parts of the Action Plan that have proven problematic in implementation.

 

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