AFTER-CARE KINDOM OF HEAVEN

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OBJECTIVES AFTER CARE

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AFTER CARE: completes the holistic delivery of services to children and families through ongoing support following reintegration to strengthen these families while linking them further with community structures.

 

• To maintain regular contact with the family and be available to the family should any concerns arise regarding the reunification.

• To provide resources to impoverished families that have this additional child to care for and linking these families to strong community structures and programmes for assistance.

• To maintain links to the schools and/or community structures that are affected by the child’s reintegration.

• To collate records and details of the consequences of reintegration so that successes and challenges may be analysed and programme delivery adjusted to better meet the needs of children and communities interfacing with God’s Grace.Such information strengthens this Organization’s advocacy in the sector.

 

After care is defined as ongoing contact with a child who has been at God’s Grace and has returned home or is living independently.

After care is divided into ‘regular contact’ and ‘occasional contact’. Regular contact lasts for 12 months following exit from God’s Grace or longer dependent on circumstances. Regular contact includes regular telephone calls, visits and calls to schools and caregivers. Occasional contact is maintained with children through telephone calls or visits when the team is in the area or receiving visits from past children.

 

The support is both advisory and practical. The aftercare team talks to the family and the child if there are concerns about behaviour and suggests ways to resolve any conflict. Practical help is given in the form of transport costs to school, uniform and other resources for school (including paying of school fees), food parcels and assistance with identity documents etc. Independent youth or children who have completed school talk to God’s Grace about the need for skills training and connects them to providers where possible. Typically, around half of the youth at home are unemployed and actively seeking employment. Most often, they get short part time work.