NOTICE THE CHILD! CHILDREN VISIBLE IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES – TOOLKIT FOR PERSONNEL

Lähteenmäki, Minna Satakunnan ammattikorkeakoulu, Satakunta University of Applied Sciences Degree Programme in Studies of Bachelor of Social Services May 2017 Number of pages: 57 Appendices: 16

Keywords: child’s status, parenthood/parenting, family life, problem with substance abuse, supporting ______________________________________________________________

According to the child welfare act child’s status needs to be considered when their parents are treated in adult directed services especially such as mental healthcare and substance abuse services. However, substance abuse workers experience that they are lacking work methods when it comes to introducing child’s aspects and support parenting.

The subject of this thesis was to take child’s status into account and support parenting in the point of view of substance abuse families. Overview of the literature was described the concepts family with substance abuse, substance abuse parenthood, considered child’s point of views and support parenting. The main things about services of substance abuse and practice-based thesis was also covered on the literature overview.

The co-operation partner in the thesis was psychosocial institutional services in Pori. The primary aim was that the workers acknowledge the importance of the child’s status and the child’s needs come visible to their parents. The purpose of this thesis was to consider child’s point of view and to increase the parents supporting in psychosocial services and this way to strengthen parenting skills of substance abuse users.

Thesis was executed as practice-based thesis. The purpose was to do work method folder for psychosocial service workers. As result came into being toolkit which consists 11 different work methods which help to consider child’s status and parents supporting stabilized as a part of everyday work. In the thesis was thought that supporting parents and taking child’s status into account was also strengthening parents own resources and their support network. Therefore, these Methods was chosen in the work method folder. From the thesis benefit not only psychosocial institutional services personnel but also the clients.