A two-day workshop on child welfare and social protection organized by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), together with the Government of Azerbaijan, begins on September 19, Trend reports citing a statement issued by UNICEF.
The Workshop is part of the joint efforts with the Government to support the implementation of the State Program on De-Institutionalization and Alternative Care, being part of the child welfare reform in the Country.
The goal behind the reform is to phase out the institutionalization of children, so that the children living today in various kinds of institutions will have a chance to grow up in a family environment with community-based alternatives to institutionalization. Additionally, the vulnerable families would be supported financially as well as by future social and community-based services to avoid new admissions to institutions maintaining children within their biological families.
The workshop will be the first in a range of UNICEF-supported national and regional workshops aimed at establishing a system of social service workers in the country. The workshop aims to boost the understanding of child care management, improve skills and practices, present the experience of other Countries and involve Government representatives in an effort to ensure that children grow up in a family environment.
Participants in the workshop will include representatives from the Commission on Minors, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labor & Social Protection, the State Committee on Family, Women & Children Problems, as well as the local NGOs.