In my Master's thesis, I focused on researching the cooperation between the School Advisory Service, the Center for Social Work (hereinafter: CSD) Slovenj Gradec and the Crisis Center for Children and Adolescents (hereinafter KCM) Slovenj Gradec, in cases of solving problems in adolescence.
At the beginning, in the theoretical part, I present Bronfenbrenner's ecological model of individual development. I continue with the description of the concept of working relationship and conclude with the mutual cooperation of professional staff.
A qualitative research on the case study included a school counselor (hereinafter: ŠSD), a social worker at the social work center (hereinafter SD), an expert in a crisis center for children and adolescents, a pupil and his class teacher. Through research, I was interested in when and how the institutions connect with each other, and how their cooperation takes place in concrete work with adolescents. The purpose of the research was to gather views of the involved participants on the experiences of the joint work, the obstacles in this work and the positive characteristics of mutual support, based on in-depth discussions.
School failure and behavioral problems are the reasons why the school and CSD connect. Both the child and the family have to deal with the child's problems, and therefore, they are included in the CSD's service help for the family at home. A social worker at CSD is in charge of the case, which connects institutions in different ways in their work. Experts use individual and group approaches, using different techniques according to the field of work they perform.
An example of the involvement of these institutions should also be known to other CSDs and KCMs; it is also important to raise awareness among CSDs and schools about the importance and role of cooperation between institutions. In schools, professional staff is needed for continuous work with the mentioned population of children. A great success would be the connection of healthcare with other institutions involved in the case of a child and the possibility of having a class teacher at meetings with professionals in KCM. A large number of volunteers from secondary schools and KCM's connection with an intergenerational center under the name of the Andeški hram would be of great importance.
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