Children's Homes and Working With Families

The article presents the experience and considered reflection of social workers from the social cooperative "La Casa davanti al sole", a non-profit organisation which has been managing children’s homes and has been providing support to vulnerable families in the north of Italy since 1987. The daily work of social workers involved in the care of children and young people has raised questions regarding the ethical approach and definition of performance indicators in the areas of child protection and family support. What is the best way to care for a child who has been removed from his or her family? How can the most appropriate care for his or her particular situation be guaranteed? What is the best way to communicate with and relate to the family? These questions have always been at the centre of childcare and give rise to a continuous evaluation and analysis of the role of children’s homes in child protection. The methodological awareness presented in the paper is the result of over twenty years of working with children and their families.