Best Practices
1. Name of the practice
Żyrardów Social Services Program
2. City
ŻYRARDÓW (POLAND)
3. Years in operation
2023 – Present
4. Objectives
The aim of the Social Services Program is to increase access to integrated social services that meet the needs of the local community, including families with children, by developing and testing model solutions for the integration and development of the social welfare of the residents of the City of Żyrardów. These programs are adapted to the specific nature of the local community, with the Social Services Center in Żyrardów serving as a new organizational unit for the greater City of Żyrardów.
The Program meets the expectations of residents as indicated in the Needs Assessment. In the surveys conducted, services related to improving family relationships – solving marital and parenting problems – were the fourth most frequently indicated (i.e., by 31.6% of residents) activity with the greatest potential to improve the situation of families with children in Żyrardów. A similar need was indicated for specialist counseling for families and family education.
Qualitative research conducted among residents of various ages indicated a need to expand the range of therapeutic and workshop activities for parents in the areas of parenting, values, and child development. Such knowledge among parents increases awareness of the psychological development of children, especially adolescents. Engagement with these programs allows parents to better understand youth, foster better family communication, work through emotions in a safe manner, promote non-violent communication, and help children to develop into socially and emotionally well-adjusted individuals. In the long term, assuming that one of the main catalysts of youth crime is a difficult family situation, better parenting skills would translate into better family ties and, as a result, less youth crime.
5. Description - overwiew
The Social Services Center in Żyrardów is the implementer of the Social Services Program, while the providers of social services are:
- Social Services Center in Żyrardów,
- Local Social Integration Center in Żyrardów
- Żyrardów City Hall,
- organizational units of the City of Żyrardów,
- non-governmental organizations
- other entities within the framework of cross-sector cooperation.
The activities undertaken as part of the program include:
- Counseling and psychological support: This service is aimed at people who find themselves in a special life situation and need the help of a psychologist. These situations may be caused by normative crises and external factors. The service consists of an initial consultation, diagnosis and definition of the problem, and identification of possible solutions. The service may also include ongoing consultations, counseling, workshops, educational group meetings, and support groups.
- Specialist counseling:
- Dietitian Consultation: A service consisting of diagnosing poor eating habits and introducing new, correct habits tailored to the diet and needs of a child or adult.
- Posture Correction: A service that involves working with a child diagnosed with poor posture in order to correct existing body posture disorders, adopt a corrected posture, and develop habits of maintaining correct posture.
- Speech therapy: A service consisting of providing specialist speech therapy for children with delayed speech development and speech disfluency.
- Specialist counseling:
- Therapy and rehabilitation: A service aimed at children and families of children with disabilities, focused on therapy and rehabilitation for autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, and cerebral palsy. The service includes consultations, counseling, workshops, therapy, and ongoing rehabilitation support.
- Żyrardów Intervention Office: A service consisting of on-call duty performed by various specialists (police officers, municipal guards, lawyers, psychologists, social workers). During their shifts, specialists will provide advice and conduct educational meetings with residents in the following areas:
- Defending consumer rights
- Avoiding deception and fraud
- Housing issues (debt, evictions)
- Family difficulties
- Żyrardów Intervention Office: A service consisting of on-call duty performed by various specialists (police officers, municipal guards, lawyers, psychologists, social workers). During their shifts, specialists will provide advice and conduct educational meetings with residents in the following areas:
In addition, the activities of the City of Żyrardów include:
- Extensive cooperation with NGOs
- Establishing and supporting the activities of the Youth City Council and the Senior Council
- The Żyrardów Resident Card, which provides a range of benefits to families in Żyrardów
- The Żyrardów Large Family Card, with additional benefits for large families
- Free public transport for students of Żyrardów schools and holders of the Żyrardów Resident Card
- Subsidies from the city budget for non-public nurseries
6. Field of application
-Services (motherhood and fatherhood support; work-life balance support; childrearing support)
-Health (pyschological support; assistance managing disabilities; vulnerable families)
7. Target
Parents, Children, and citizens experiencing mental health struggles
8. Budget
he Program budget is financed from the budget of the City of Żyrardów. The project plans to finance social services in the amount of PLN 1,889,251.
The program budget for each year is as follows:
2023, from August to December: PLN 446,000.00 (105,100.00 Euro)
2024: PLN 467,408 (110,145.00 Euro)
2025: PLN 481,898 (113,559.00 Euro)
2026: PLN 493,945 (116,398.00 Euro)
This budget does not include subsidies for nurseries and transport for students.
9 Evaluation - impact - outcomes
Approximately 300 people participate in the main activities of the Żyrardów for Families Program each year. In addition, about twice as many participate in activities financed from the LCIS budget and projects carried out jointly with NGOs.