LTVaiko globos sistema Lietuvoje išgyvena intensyvių pokyčių laikotarpį, siekiant užtikrinti asmenų, norinčių globoti (rūpintis) ar įvaikinti vaiką, parengimą bei vertinimą: atsirado budintys globotojai, visose savivaldybėse pradėjo veikti globos centrai, patvirtinta bendra globėjų (rūpintojų), budinčių globotojų, įtėvių, bendruomeninių vaikų globos namų darbuotojų mokymo ir konsultavimo programa (GIMK). Asmenys, norintys tapti vaiko globėjais, yra rengiami ir vertinami, pradėtos organizuoti savitarpio pagalbos grupės, tai viena iš globėjų (rūpintojų) palaikymo ir pagalbos teikimo priemonių, leidžianti spręsti su vaiko globa susijusius klausimus. Vis dažniau atsiranda globėjų (rūpintojų), kuriems kyla sunkumų bendraujant su globotiniu, jų tarpusavio santykiai įtempti, vaikas patiria mokymosi, adaptacijos sunkumų, dėl to globos procesas tampa vis sudėtingesnis. Aktuali problema – paauglystėje iškylančios nekonstruktyvaus elgesio apraiškos, kurios aštrėja, šios problemos nesprendžiant. Dažnas globėjas (rūpintojas) kreipiasi pagalbos į globos centrų specialistus, socialinius darbuotojus, psichologus. Vaikų globėjams (rūpintojams) būtina nuolatinė kvalifikuota specialistų ir valstybės pagalba, nes tik taip jie gali tinkamai bei kompetentingai atlikti savo pareigas ir patenkinti vaiko poreikius. Šiame straipsnyje analizuojama savitarpio pagalbos grupės globėjams patirtis, pateikiamas kokybinis tyrimas. Tyrimo rezultatai patvirtina tokio pagalbos būdo efektyvumą, leidžia numatyti ir projektuoti kitas pagalbos globėjams priemones. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: globėjas (rūpintojas), savitarpio pagalbos grupė, į(si)galinimas, refleksija. [Iš leidinio]
ENThe need for guardianship (care) is growing every year: the number of families wishing to take care of children who have passed out of the custody of their parents, take care of them, meet their needs, and have future plans to adopt a child, is growing. However, the situations of children who have lost parental care are very diverse. Many grow up in families where the adults are addicted to alcohol, and the children often have genetic, psychological, mental, emotional and other problems. These problems become more and more acute as the children grow up. People who care for children often face various difficulties relating to the children’s behaviour, mutual relations, a lack of knowledge about the developmental problems of children who have lost parental care, insufficient preparation to accept a new family member, unreasonable expectations of the child, etc. The goal of reforming institutional care in 2014–2020 is to reorient institutional social care, seek services for children left without parental care, seek families in the community, and create a system of family support and guardians (carers). One of the goals of the transformation is to ensure a harmonious environment and conditions for every child left without parental care, guardians, adoptive parents, or families, and to receive help in the community. The subject of the article: the empowerment of care givers in a mutual support group. The purpose of the article: to investigate the possibilities for the empowerment of care givers in a mutual aid group, based on the reflection of experience. Research methods: scientific-methodical literature, document analysis, semistructured interview, qualitative content analysis. The organisation of self-help groups for guardians (carers) is also regulated by legislation.The 19 January 2018 order from the minister of social security and labour of the Republic of Lithuania No A1-28 ‘Regarding the Activities of the Care Centre and the Description of the Organisation and Quality Care Procedure of the Child’s On-Call Guardian’ specifies the function of the care centre: ‘to organise or initiate mutual assistance groups of guardians’ relatives, adoptive parents, on-call guardians, guardians who are not related by family ties, family members’; and recommends that mutual aid groups be organised at least once every two months. ‘Mutual aid groups can be organised more often, depending on the needs of their members’ (Ibid.). Research methodology, organisation, participants. The methodological basis of the study consists of the following theories: existential (Sartre, Frankl, Buber, etc), which reflects the search for the meaning of being, responding to situations of existential anxiety faced by both foster children and care givers; empowerment (Kelly, Turner, Ruškus, etc), which corresponds to an orientation towards a person’s strengths, and ways to create favourable conditions for self-expression; and experiential learning theory (Kolb, Schon, etc), by which mutual support groups are based on the idea of experiential learning. The study took place in January and February 2021. Qualitative research methodology and semi-structured interview were chosen for data collection. The study participants were selected based on their experience of attending self-help group sessions. The researchers’ meetings with interview participants were complicated due to the lockdown announced in the country and the strict restricting conditions. The interview was conducted in a mixed way: by non-contact, remote, and contact methods. The interviews are discussed with each research participant separately, accepting the best place, time and method for them and the researcher.The Zoom and Messenger platforms, and other electronic means of communication, were used during the non-contact interview. Eleven guardians (care givers) participated in the study, out of which interviews were conducted with three in a direct contact way during a home visit. The researcher created the conditions to express an opinion clearly and unhurriedly. The structure of the completed research interview consists of five blocks of questions: information about research participants; problems arising in the guardianship (care) of a child; the benefits of the group social work method in the childcare process; the course and content of sessions of mutual help groups; the effect of mutual help group activities on guardians (care givers) while caring for a child. The answers were recorded and transcribed. The names of the research participants were coded in order to comply with the principle of confidentiality. Demographic data. Gender: all women. Age: from 32 to 70 years. Type of guardianship: six permanent guardians, three temporary guardians, two on-call guardians. Guardianship (care) period: from six months to ten years. Age of the fostered (looked after) child: from six months to five years. The research revealed that the guardian’s mission, work and vocation are not easy activities: they face children’s complaints, and they must be able to sensitively and professionally accompany the child in the process of surviving loss and separation, in cardinal changes in life. [...] Keywords: care giver, mutual support group, empowerment, reflection. [From the publication]