praha
8 MAY 2009
Putting Children First: best practice in Europe
Welcome...
Divorce and family separation is an issue
that affects all countries in Europe. It is an
issue that policy makers are attempting to
more fully understand in order to improve
outcomes for the children affected.
The Centre for Separated Families (UK) is
delighted to be hosting the first meeting of
the Putting Children First European Forum
which brings together colleagues working in
the field of support to separated families
from all over Europe to share best practice.
The idea of the Forum is to enable
colleagues who are working directly with
families to contribute to an increased and
improved understanding of what really
works in supporting separated families to
put their children's needs first. From this
shared knowledge and expertise,
recommendations will be drawn together
www.puttingchildrenfirst.eu
to inform policy development in each
member country.
There are currently representatives from
Agenda
eight countries, all of whom are working in
8 May 2009
ways that promote children's well being - Prague, Czech Republic
one of the major principles of the Putting
Children First Forum. The Forum will report
on developments regularly over the coming • National reports from
year and aims to hold a conference in delegates
Stockholm in late 2009 at which the first
• Formation of a European
findings from the Forum will be presented.
Network
The Putting Children First European Forum • Funding
welcomes members from anywhere in • Stockholm conference -
Europe who are working towards better
outcomes for children through holistic
Autumn 2009
support to separating families. • Association of Family and
Conciliation Courts
Karen Woodall • Any other business
Director
The Centre for Separated Families (UK)
Contributing organisations and projects
Rainbows (Austria)
RAINBOWS works to support children and teenagers as they deal with separation or loss, helping
them to avoid the serious long-term effects which can result from the psychological strain of such
experiences. RAINBOWS provides assistance for affected children and adults so that they can
learn to cope with their grief and accept new family situations.

Evaluation of staff reports and the feedback we receive from parents (on feedback forms) confirm
the effectiveness of the support offered by RAINBOWS. Further support includes holiday camps,
seminars for parents, courses, workshops

RAINBOWS is a non profit organisation founded in 1991. Our work is aimed at children and
teenagers aged 4 to 17 years and parents and carers of affected children and teenagers

Udruga Dijete razvod (Croatia)

The Association Child-Divorce is a national non-government non-profit organisation (established in
February 2008) that is mostly oriented to obtaining information resources for all involved parties
in order to help them make decisions directed to bringing about better outcomes for children.

Our services are available to parents who are caring for their children alone, those who are
sharing care and those who have no contact with their children, and anyone else with concerns
about family separation, including lawyers, judges, social care center workers (psychologists,
social workers, jurists), concerned government bodies (Children’s State Advocate, Ombudsman,
State Gender Equality Office)

We believe that best parent is both parents, regardless of whether children live with both parents
or with one of them. We want to help children to have ongoing relationships with both of their
parents. Parents not only need help to achieve this, they need the infrastructure which facilitates
this. Infrastructure would include gender aware, accessible, empathic and empowering social care
centers’ workers and judicial system and their workers’ competence. We believe that gender
biases have to be overcome at all levels, legislation has to be changed, court procedures have to
be shorter and more efficient, and Court Orders have to be more precise. The Association delivers
information and advice by telephone, email and through its website.

The Association has published a free brochure with a template of the parenting plan, advice
collected from experts, and addresses of all relevant bodies involved in decisions about children of
divorcing and divorced parents, which has been distributed to all social care centers and can also
be downloaded from our web page.

Children of Europe (Czech Republic)

Divorce is considered to be a deep crisis for all: the children and the parents, with terrible
disadvantages, consequences and results. But we can avoid many of these by improving the
relationship between parents after divorce.

With increasing frequency in divorce and thoughts of equality between the sexes, came a
question, "is mother becoming the prime carer for the child the best solution following divorce?"

The established order with the mother as the obvious and natural custodial person, is sometimes so
strong that it cannot be broken. Still, there is evidence demonstrating an alternative for solving the
situation.

Joint custody and shared parenting show up as a new alternative to the established pattern.
This after divorce concept can be more or less considered the most convenient. It ensures the
continuation of family life for the child. It ensures the children having two parents, although they
live in separate places. It ensures that one parent is not unfairly burdened with responsibility for
the child’s upbringing, and that both mother and father are responsible

Our basic idea is that we must do everything necessary for the best interest of the child because
we believe that the best parents is both parents.
One Family (Republic of Ireland)

http://
One Family is a leading national organisation for one-parent families in Ireland. Progressing
the work of Cherish, We work with all types and all members of one-parent families,
respecting the realities of family life in Ireland, to affect positive change and achieve equality
and social inclusion for all one-parent families in Ireland.

We aim to provide high-quality, much-needed services to the many different one-parent

families in Ireland and the professionals working with them. We also work hard to ensure that
one-parent families have a clear voice that is heard by policy and decision-makers.

Austria
Kies voor het kind (Netherlands) Rainbows
SELECT is a Dutch program. The interventions in the SELECT program are aimed at promoting
www.rainbows.at
the skills and confidence of children and parents in the situation where they are affected by
divorce.
Croatia
The Province of North Brabant made it possible for the program to be available to Udruga Dijete razvod
professionals. At the end of 2008 started a major new study, by the University with support www.udruga-dijete-
from ZonMw, on the effects of SELECT with the aim of inclusion in the database and razvod.bloger.hr
implementation of SELECT for all children of separation where necessary.

SELECT is clarification of information on divorce; clarification of the different perspectives Czech Republic
understand yourself and others; strength of children and parents; strengthens behaviour in
dealing with changes brought about by the separation, conflict, transformation, dealing with
Children of Europe
problems and resolving difficult situations; less use of coercive and negative discipline in www.childrenofeurope.cz
relation to the various parties, ex-partners, parents and children, ex-partners of ex new
relationships, children with family members from a compound; better communication between
all parties on the separation and responsibilities on parents and parenting issues between
Republic of Ireland
parents and between parents and child, and less parenting stress. One Family
www.onefamily.ie
These results are achieved through the creation of peer contact for children and a supportive
learning environment for parents in parent meetings and information. In SELECT, children can
talk about their own experiences with the separation of their parents and all the changes and Netherlands
difficulties they have experienced. Children can best help and find answers within the peer
Kies voor het kind
group and self learning how to respond and help in their own environment. Parents will
receive information and tips on divorce and education and practical information on skills they
www.kiesinfo.com
can apply in their daily live.

Norway
Samlivssenteret
www.samlivssenteret.no

Sweden
Barn i svåra
vårdnadsstrider
www.stockholm.se

United Kingdom
The Centre for
Separated Families
www.separatedfamilies.org.uk

United Kingdom
Jewish Unity for Multiple
Parenting
www.jump-parenting.org.uk
Samlivssenteret (Norway) “We treat children and
The background for the establishment creation of the programme Fortsatt Foreldre – GODT adolescents with
NOK samarbeid etter samlivsbrudd (We are always parents – Cooperating WELL ENOUGH
understanding and respect for
after relationship disruption), is the insight that an increasing number of children and
teenagers experience separation and divorce between their parents. Following this
their individual experiences
development is an increasing number of conflicts after the break up. A lot of children develop and needs and take them as
psychological problems as a cause of the way their parents deal with the divorce situation. equal and full individuals.”
Rainbows
The most important predictor for the problem development of children, is the amount of
conflict between parents. When the parents are able to cooperate constructively about the
“Parents need the services
children, the children have about the same risk for problem development as other children.
But if the parents have ongoing and destructive conflicts, the children are at risk of suffering. which would be gender
To help reduce the amount of conflict between the parents is therefore one of the main aims of aware, accessible, empathic
Fortsatt Foreldre (Continued parenthood). and empowering.”
Udruga Dijete razvod
This means giving the parents a language to help them understand their situation, their actions
and way of communicating, both with their children and with their ex-partner. It also implies
giving the parents help to reconcile with the situation and with life as it is and has turned out.
“We are always parents –
This is necessary in order to see the child in an appropriate way. cooperating WELL ENOUGH
after relationship disruption.”
Samlivssenteret

Barn i svåra vårdnadsstrider (Sweden) “Finding ways to work with

The Child and Youth Unit Hägersten-Liljeholmen SDF works to find effective methods to work children and parents in order
with families where the parents are divorced and destructive conflicts continue long after the to mitigate conflicts and
separation. reduce suffering.”
Barn i svåra vårdnadsstrider
A two year project started in February 2008 and made in cooperation with Skärholmen and
Älvsjö SDF. In the first phase, a study of national and international approaches with a view to
finding ways to work with children and parents in order to mitigate conflicts and reduce “Respecting the realities of
suffering. The next step is to test the new working methods in order to finally implement the family life in Ireland, to affect
methods which have been found to be effective. positive change and achieve
equality and social inclusion.”
The project is half funded by development funding for early intervention, County
One Family
Administrative Board of Stockholm.

“Campaigning for improved

relationships between
The Centre for Separated Families (UK) divorced parents and their
The Centre for Separated Families is a national charity (established in 1973) that works with
children in the Jewish
everyone affected by family separation in order to bring about better outcomes for children. community.”
Our services are available to parents who are caring for their children alone, those who are JUMP
sharing care and those who have no contact with their children, an anyone else with concerns
about family separation. “We must do everything
necessary for the best interest
We believe that traditional services which are based around supporting a ‘lone parent’ fail to
help families to make the transition. Our programmes have, therefore, been developed to help of the child because we
parents to form cooperative post separation relationships that put the needs of their children believe that the best parents is
first. The Centre delivers information and advice by telephone, email and through its website. both parents.”
The Centre also works with other professionals to help them to work in gender aware ways Children of Europe
and to recognise the different experiences of mothers and fathers after family separation in
order to help them to respond to those different needs appropriately. The training is designed
to make the service gender aware, accessible, empathic and empowering.
“Dealing with changes
brought about by the
separation, conflict,
transformation, dealing with
Jewish Unity for Multiple Parenting (UK) problems and resolving
JUMP is a voluntary Jewish support and lobby group that aims to assist with better parenting difficult situations.”
time arrangements for the non-resident parent to see their children following difficulties after Kies voor het kind
the breakdown of their relationship with their former partner.
“Because supporting the
JUMP strives to improve parent-child relationships from a religious, social and legal
whole family brings better
perspective for those parents who find themselves in this heartbreaking situation. Essentially,
the aim is for both parents to be recognised as having equal responsibility for their children
outcomes for children...”
which is fully supported throughout all areas of the Jewish Community. The Centre for Separated
Families