More than 40 representatives of regional, municipal, district structures and social service providers took part in a regional round table of Hope and Homes for Children – Bulgaria, which took place on the 19th and 20th September and was titled “DDICM in the role of the good parent”. The focus on the first day of the event was aimed at the model of District DI Coordination Mechanism (DDICM), the way, in which it has been implemented in the regions of Vratsa and Vidin, as well as the good practices of interaction and partnership between all stakeholders and HHC – Bulgaria, thanks to which tens of children are now being raised in a loving family environment, rather than in an institution.
After the initial opening of the round table by the program coordinator of the organization, Boryana Klimentova, and the welcoming speech of the executive director of Hope and Homes for Children – Bulgaria, Georgi Simeonov, the local coordinator of HHC – Bulgaria for the region of Vratsa, Margarita Andreevska, took the floor. She presented the representatives of the region present at the event and explained how the DDICM was established in the region of Vratsa, as well as how the successful models of work that persist in the team have been created and maintained. She finished her presentation with a story of a child and their parents who have managed to reinstate their family and are incredibly happy together all thanks to the interaction between all institutions and parties in the proess, to the model of active family support of HHC – Bulgaria and the activation of the entire potential for support that existed.
Her words were supported by a representative of the Child protection department, who worked with her on the case, along with the work on many other cases of children at risk. The CPD representative said that if the CPD is the “wing of protection”, as said by one child, then HHC – Bulgaria is the other necessary wing that turns the life of a child in a family environment into reality.
The session continued with a presentation of the work of the organization in the region of Vidin. The local coordinator of HHC – Bulgaria for the region, Elitsa Ivanova, spoke about the incredible interaction and mutual teamwork between the CPDs and the organization, thanks to which multiple very difficult cases of children at risk of abandonment were solved. Elitsa’s story was supported by the words of the CPD representative who worked alongside her, who shared their gratitude to the organization and noted how important the model of District DI Coordination Mechanism was in managing to place a child in a family environment instead of an institution.
The second day of the regional round table was organized as a discussion, where anyone could contribute, share an opinion, discuss important or unclear matters and share experience with colleagues from the region. The fact that the event had regional representatives present was incredibly useful, since it enabled the discussion of very specific issues and the commitment to very specific future steps that would solve these issues as quickly and effectively as possible. The entire discussion was focused on topics such as interaction, mutual action, mechanism for work, communication between stakeholders in the DI process as a well-oiled machine that would start working so well that it would, at one point, stop needing the DDICM due to the fact that it would have developed such a strong interactive manner of working and communicating that everything would happen within minutes. The partnerships between HHC – Bulgaria and all representatives from different institutions was discussed down to its very core, on the field, down to the specific children and their families and to the understanding of “the best interest of the child”. Participants shared their gratitude to the organization on multiple occasions and left the regional round table encouraged and elated.
