CENTER AGAINST ABUSE Dardedze is a non-governmental organization that was officially opened on the 4th of April 2001 by the President of Latvia Mrs.Vaira Vike-Freiberga. With the financial support of foreign sponsors and embassies, as well as local donors we have established an advanced center in Latvia that is providing multi-disciplinary assistance to children who have suffered from abuse and to their families, as well as provide educational and preventive programmes to professionals and interested individuals about the subject of child abuse prevention and treatment. In center Against Abuse Dardedze we provide a professional rehabilitation in esthetic environment, which is specifically designed to promote the treatment and recovering of child abuse victims well being. Center offers in-patient and out-patient treatment opportunities. The most significant and specific characteristics of Center Against Abuse Dardedze are:
1) multi-disciplinary team work - a team of different professionals is involved in working with each case (psychologist, psychotherapist, social worker, medical staff, lawyer. If necessary additional professionals are asked to participate (e.g. child psychiatrist, child gynecologist, spiritual counselor, ect.) All cases are discussed in weekly meetings together with childcare workers who are responsible for planning the leisure time of in-patient clients and the best plan of intervention is designed.
2) professionals of center Against Abuse Dardedze are specifically trained to work with cases of child abuse. Due to the support of Welfare Department of Riga City Council and other partners of collaboration we can afford to provide regular training seminars to our stuff, as well supply our library with the latest literature on the topic of child abuse.
3) forensic interviewing room. In order to reduce the number of interviews with the victim of child abuse we provide a possibility to use the forensic interview room. We use forensic interview room for various reasons:
a) To observe the meeting sessions among children and parents or other guardians, in order to assess the communication patterns, ect.
b) To interview child for the investigative purposes with the police officer or prosecutor and psychologist. Other professionals can observe the interview behind the one-way mirror. It is also videotape the forensic interview and then watch the tape and analyze it.
c) To translate the testimony of child to the courtroom through internet, in such way permitting child not to participate in the court proceedings directly but to give his/her testimony in the Center together with his/her therapist where he/she feels secure and comfortable.
4) team work with the victims family in order to provide the most effective outcomes of rehabilitation process it is necessary to intervene with the whole family of the abused child, including the perpetrator. We are proud that during the first decade of our operating we have been able to proceed with two criminal cases where the abuser has been punished accordingly, as well as many cases has been closed successfully and the clients have been able to return to normal functioning patterns.
5) interdisciplinary co-operation in order to provide the safe family environment and living circumstances for our clients after the rehabilitation process in our center, it is important that professionals in our center cooperate with different helping professionals in different other institutions. To make the best decision for the model of intervention for each and every client we organize interdisciplinary meetings for gathering the most information and date available to every involved institution - police, family court, other child protection institutions, ect.
6) offer training seminars, educational and preventive programmes Team of professionals of Center Against Abuse Dardedze believes that besides the direct intervention and treatment to abused children and their families, there is another approach needed to solve and to reduce the problem of child abuse in our society, as well as to provide the most effective and professional help and treatment to victims of child abuse. This approach is information and training about this topic to different helping professionals who intervene with children in their everyday work (psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, doctors, nurses, child protection workers, ect.), as well as any interested individual.
To fulfill these objectives there is a special unit for providing information and training in the center Against Abuse Dardedze that is working in various directions:
1. There is a library in our center, where anyone can read specific literature, publications and conference materials related to the topic of child abuse There are different video and audio materials available on the subject, as well.
2. Center Against Abuse Dardedze is in the process of implementing various educational and preventive programmes this year: MOBILE PREVENTIVE AND EDUCATIONAL MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM FPR PREVENTING CASES OF ABUSE IN LOCAL CHILD CARE INSTITUTIONS This project is co-financed by the European Unions Phare Access programme in Latvia. According to that it is possible to implement this project during the year of 2001 and 2002 in 8 local childcare institutions. The main goals of this project are: · to prevent possible cases of child abuse in the local childcare institutions in Latvia; · to educate staff of of the local childcare institutions by promoting their skills of identifying symptoms of child abuse, of understanding the high risk factors of child abuse and the consequences of it; to understand need of complex approach in working with cases of child abuse, as well as to learn the proper anger and stress coping mechanisms that are critically needed in working with children; · to provide real, professional and holistic psychological, social, medical, legal assistance and supervision in crises situations. As a result of this project there will be the first mobile multi-disciplinary team established, that will not only provide educational and preventive programmes, but will also provide real help and assistance to professionals and children in crises situations that are related to child abuse; there will be a special preventive and educational programme developed that could be implemented not only in 8 local child care institutions where about 1000 children will participate in it, but also in many other institutions that work with children. USA GOVERNMET FUNDED TRAINING A PROGRAMME FOR PPOLICE AND PROCECUTORS ON HOW TO INTERVIEW ABUSED CHILDEN AND HOW TO USE FORENSIC INTERVIEW ROOM AT THE CENTER FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA This project will be focused on providing special training and education to Latvian police and prosecutors on interviewing abused children and adolescents and on possibilities of using specialized forensic interviewing room at the Center Against Abuse Dardedze . TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONALS PROVIDING REHABILITATION TO ABUSED CHILDREN FUNDED BY THE LATVIAN MINISTRY OF WELFARE Center Against Abuse Dardedze has received rights in the year 2001 to train professionals of Latvia who are providing social rehabilitation to children who have been abused. Training is being implemented according to the Rules No208 of Cabinet of Ministers. There are 60 participants (psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers) taking part in the training programme each yea after which they receive a special certificate, which permits them to provide rehabilitation to abused children.
7) Center Against abuse has developed a special documentation that has to be filled out by different participating professionals in the rehabilitation process of abused children and their families. this documentation is an effective instrument of evaluating the work and progress of professionals , as well as proving the efficiency of the used funding. Ministry of Welfare has expressed an interest about this documentation and is in process of applying this documentation to all the social child welfare institutions in Latvia.
8) Center Against Abuse Dardedze provides supervisions and support to different practicing professionals in Latvia who work with abused children and their families. This work is possible due to the generous funding from Soros Foundation Latvia and is very much needed for those who carry out this emotionally difficult work trying to provide the best possible services to victims of abuse.
9) Center Against Abuse Dardedze also develops and initiates changes in legislation regarding the issued of child abuse.
For more information about the centre, please go to this link: http://www.centrsdardedze.lv
