Listen and involve us more. Participatory Assessment with children on the Child Protection Unit Services

A Participatory Assessment conducted with Albanian children, aimed at collecting the perceptions and opinions of the children who are direct and indirect beneficiaries of the Child Protection Unit (CPU) about the services they received. This assessment using mostly qualitative methods was conducted both through individual interviews with 38 children receiving direct services from the CPU and seven focus group discussions with a total of 56 children from 6 to 17 years old. Individual children were interviewed about the general work of the CPU and their overall evaluation of its services, about visits in the family or at the CPU premises, and about their assessment of the impact of the CPU assistance on the problems they face. Focus groups aimed at grasping children’s understanding of violence; their knowledge of the work of the CPUs; who they can turn to for assistance; and how prevention activities can be improved. In general, all children directly assisted by the CPU, assessed positively the quality of services they received (rating 4.7/5) and even expressed some improvement in their lives and in their relationships within the family following the CPU intervention.
Recommendations of the study were the following:
– While differences exist, Child Protection Units need to ensure that their work practices are based on professional standards; It is of utmost importance that Child Protection Workers consider children not only as their primary beneficiaries but also at their partners; Children can be meaningfully and actively involved in supporting the work of the CPU; and Mobilization and support of all the partners is crucial to raise awareness of child rights and child protection-related issues