CHILD CENTRE SLOVAKIA

the first Slovak civic association
for help children in substitute family care

K. Sidora 134
034 01 Ružomberok
Slovak Republic

Bank account of the Child Centre Slovakia kept in VÚB, account No 294547342/0200

BIC: SUBASKBX
IBAN: SK75 0200 0000 0002 9454 7342

call to the number +421 903 731 234
e-mail: childcentre(e-mail code)detskecentrum.sk

PRIORITIES OF DETSKÉ CENTRUM SLOVENSKO – CHILD CENTRE SLOVAKIA

Child Centre – the first Slovak civic association for help children in substitute family care, founded on 28 November 1990 in Ružomberok by citizens sharing a common objective – to help handicapped children.

It is the oldest voluntary organization of this kind in Slovakia. The origins of formation of a group that later founded the Child Centre Slovakia, go back to the year 1979.

The idea of foundation of this organization resulted from the need for more consistent defence of children’s rights and was a step forward of a then existing group of volunteers, who have organized different sport and tourist events for children in the framework of a comprehensive education of children reliant on substitute care since the year 1980.

Since the year 1990, the main objective of the Child Centre Slovakia has shaped up. The national activities of this organization were aimed at children and young people reliant on substitute care, i.e. children and young people who cannot be grown up by their own biological family for different reasons. To other categories, in particular to handicapped children, the volunteers from CCSK provide help within the scope of their free capacity.  

The Child Centre Slovakia helps children and young people reliant on substitute care in a number of ways and its commitment can be designated as social and economic;

PRIORITY 1

The creation of conditions for more effective forms of substitute child care, formation of professional substitute families, promotion of recovery of a non-functional family and promotion of substitute family forms of child care

In 1999 the CHILD CENTRE SLOVAKIA founded the first non-state virtual children’s home SUBSTITUTE FAMILIES (NÁHRADNÉ RODINY) that currently grows up 41 children in 15 professional substitute families and in one diagnostic group aimed at diagnostics of children before their placement into different forms of substitute care.

In Slovakia, thousands of children aged between 0 and 25 years still live in traditional children’s homes with prevailing collective education. It must be noted that in many cases these establishments do not satisfy the existing needs and have reached the point beyond which children’s rights are not consistently fulfilled. Although the state administration endeavours to remedy the situation in this area, it is a very slow process, often without a deeper application of scientific knowledge, especially for economic reasons. Children, i.e. adult citizens leaving these establishments, are not sufficiently prepared for independent life and many of them remain in the category of reliant, socially affected persons. More than 7,000 children are placed into adoption programmes or foster care. These children were luckier – substitute parents take care of their education.

At present we can talk about a new, more effective form of institutional substitute care, i. e. education in professional substitute families, that are also available for children who are not legally free and children who cannot be placed into adoption programmes or foster care for other reasons and are forced to stay in dreary, uninviting buildings of state children’s homes with prevailing collective education. Although the placement of children into professional substitute families was enacted in 1993 and is on the first place in institutional care, this process is very slow and non-systematic.  Thousands of children still stay in children’s homes that were transformed for appearance sake.

PRIORITY 2

Psychosocial and economic help to young people and adult persons, who previously stayed in a substitute care establishment, immediately after termination of ordered institutional care.

The purpose of psychosocial help provided by Child Centre Slovakia is to help those citizens who grew up in establishments of institutional substitute care. Since 1996, KCM – Crisis Centre for Young People (KCM – Krízové centrum pre mládež) fulfils this function. Its main task is to provide "first aid" to the former beneficiaries of substitute care immediately after their departure from the children’s home. First aid means provision of basic psychosocial service, i.e. accommodation, advice and job search.  Among clients of KCM are families where both spouses are, or at least one of them is the former beneficiary of substitute care. The main objective of help to these families is the strengthening of their function, but often also the rescue of family bundles, especially when children are already in the family. KCM uses for its work economic tools, advisory services, cooperation with interested institutions, or siblings and close family of the client. KCM provides help on a voluntary basis, i.e. the client voluntarily accepts the help. In many cases the former client of KCM later becomes a volunteer of Child Centre Slovakia.

PRIORITY 3

Provision of help to children and young people who are already placed in establishments of institutional substitute care and substitute family care by creation of suitable conditions for their all-round development, with focus on successful integration into social life.

As a part of help to establishments of institutional substitute care and children who have been placed into institutional substitute care in children’s homes of SR, the CHILD CENTRE SLOVAKIA organizes original projects such as Swimming Race of Children and Young People from Children’s Homes of SR, Chess Tournament of Children and Young People from Children’s Homes of SR, Tourist Competition of Children and Young People from Children’s Homes of SR, Mini-Football Championship of Children’s Homes of SR, Table Tennis Tournament of Children’s Homes of SR, Winter Sports Games – Downhill and Cross-Country Skiing of Children and Young People from Children’s Homes of SR.

An inseparable part of this area of activities of the CHILD CENTRE SLOVAKIA is organizing of winter and summer camp meetings for children and young people from children’s homes, special elementary schools of residential, diagnostic centres, crisis centres, day-care centres and foster care centres.  
Summer mountain camps for children and young people aged between 12 and 25 years have been organized by CHILD CENTRE SLOVAKIA every year since 1981.
Younger children aged between 3 and 11 years relax every year in the building owned by CHILD CENTRE SLOVAKIA in the city of Ružomberok.

PRIORITY 4

Cooperation with related organizations in SR and other countries, in the area of information exchange, law-making and protection of children and young people in substitute care.

As a part of cooperation with related and other organizations, the Child Centre Slovakia works with the Slovak Humanitarian Council (Slovenská humanitná rada), where it is also represented in the Presidency of SHC. On the field of transformation of children’s homes it particularly works with the centres Návrat and Úsmev ako dar on draft legislation on substitute care. On 26 February 1991, the then director of the Child Centre Slovakia  PaedDr. Viktor Blaho initiated the foundation of the Forum of Workers of Children´s Homes in SR (Fórum pracovníkov detských domovov), that one year later was renamed to the Union of Workers of Children´s Homes (Únia pracovníkov detských domovov). In 2004, Children Centre Slovakia initiated cooperation of non-state children’s homes in SR that resulted in the foundation of the Association of Representatives of Non-State Children´s Homes in (Združenie zástupcov neštátnych detských domovov) in 2006.

As for foreign partners, Child Centre Slovakia renewed the long-term cooperation with Kinderdorf Pestalozzi Trogen in Switzerland. The Child Centre Slovakia also worked with the Office of French-Slovak Friendship in France. In 2003 it started cooperation with the French-German television ARTE on a documentary film on substitute families in Slovakia, which was first transmitted on the channel ARTE on 27 May 2004. In April 2003, four representatives of Child Centre Slovakia visited friends of the foundation Náš Dom and the Association of Substitute Parents (Stowarzysenie Zastepczego Rodzicielstwa) in Poznan to establish cooperation and assess the situation of substitute care in Poland. In July 2008, 75 friends from Virginia, USA worked on the farm of the Child Centre Slovakia.

Facts:

CHILD CENTRE SLOVAKIA is the oldest voluntary organization of this kind in Slovakia, whose team of workers has been formed since the year 1979.

In 1981, the group of friends started the tradition of Summer Camp Meetings of children from children’s homes, for up to 1,700 children per year.

In 1983, the group of friends started the tradition of All-Slovak Winter and Summer Sport Events for children from children’s homes – downhill ski race, cross-country ski race, cross-country ski relay, swimming race, chess tournament, tourist competition, and table tennis and mini-football tournaments.

In 1990, the group of friends founded Child Centre Slovakia – Society for help children in SR reliant on substitute care.

In 1994, the Child Centre Slovakia Slovakia founded the first Crisis Centre for Young People to help young people who grew up in children’s homes to prepare themselves for independent life in society.

In 1999, the Child Centre Slovakia founded the first non-state virtual children’s home SUBSTITUTE FAMILIES (NÁHRADNÉ RODINY DC), which has a daily capacity of 40 children directly in 15 professional substitute genuine families and in one diagnostic group that focuses on problem children and examination of children before their placement into different forms of substitute care.

The Slovak Humanitarian Council granted to the President of Children Centre Slovakia the award GITF OF THE YEAR 2000 for manifestation of humanity and help to a fellow.

The main objective of the Child Centre Slovakia in the future is to give a substitute family to as many reliant children as possible, for them to also have a kind mother and father, of course, in the effort to give them own parents again.

In January 2005, the President of the Slovak Republic awarded to Mrs. Danka Šamíková, mother of a substitute family of the Child Centre Slovakia, the Pribina Cross of 3rd class for care of children reliant on education in substitute family.

Beside of her 2 own children, Mrs. Danka Šamíková has prepared for life 20 children and her family still takes care of other 5 children.

In June 2008, the civic association CHILD CENTRE – Society for help children in SR (DETSKÉ CENTRUM - Spoločnosť pre pomoc deťom v  SR) reliant on substitute care was renamed to CHILD CENTRE SLOVAKIA. The name designates the first Slovak society for help children in substitute care.

The CHILD CENTRE SLOVAKIA is owner of a combined trademark for the logo and the name Child Centre, entered in the register kept by the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic (Úrad priemyselného vlastníctva Slovenskej republiky) under reg. No 193061.

The Child Centre Slovakia is a member of the SLOVAK HUMANITARIAN COUNCIL and is represented in the Presidency of SHC.

The Child Centre Slovakia is a member of the ASSOCIATION OF REPRESENTATIVES OF NON-STATE CHILDREN´S HOMES IN SR and is also represented in the committee of this association. The President of the Child Centre Slovakia has been the first president of this association since 2006.

President of the Child Centre Slovakia

PaedDr. Viktor Blaho, contact

Child Centre Slovakia President since 1996 (presidency in previous terms was held by Ing. Dana Hrčková – until 1992 and by Mgr. Juraj Pšeno – until 1996).

For the fourth term of office he has been a member of the Board of the Slovak Humanity Council. He is also a member of the Committee of the Association of Representatives of Non-state Children’s Homes in the Slovak Republic (and he was the first chairman of the same until June 21, 2007).

Viktor Blaho is a founding member of the Child Centre Slovakia (CCSK) established in 1990. In the period from about 1979 until the CCSK establishment, he and a team of friends – volunteers under his tutelage were involved in organizing various sporting and hiking activities, especially summer camps, for children and young people from Slovak children’s homes, starting at a local level and later moving on to cover all of Slovakia (some of the activities were even conducted in cooperation with the Central Committee of the Czecho-Slovak Association for Physical Culture). He initiated the founding of the Forum of Children’s Home Workers in the Slovak Republic, which was established on February 26, 1991 in Banská Bystrica. Between 1995 – 1997 he took an active part, in cooperation with the Government Office of the Slovak Republic, in transferring children’s homes from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic. In 2004, he initiated joint meetings of managers from non-state children’s homes in the Slovak Republic, and these meetings resulted in the establishment, in 2006, of a civic association called Association of Representatives of Non-state Children’s Homes in the Slovak Republic. Viktor Blaho promotes the principle that foster care should be conducted in foster families to the greatest extent possible. It was at his instigation that the Child Centre Slovakia founded the first virtual non-state children’s home FOSTER FAMILIES CCSK, which looks after children using only professional foster families. For this act the Slovak Humanity Council bestowed on him, as the main awardee, the GIFT OF THE YEAR 2000 award. Until mid-2006, he was the first manager of this virtual children’s home and at present he holds the office of an authorized representative of the entity accredited to operate the children’s home Foster Families CCSK.

After graduating in 1975 from the ŠASŠ secondary school in Dolný Kubín, he started to work at the Diagnostic Facility for Children in Ružomberok (currently the Diagnostic Center in Ružomberok) as a tutor. He completed his university studies at the Faculty of Pedagogy of the Comenius University in Bratislava in 1986, majoring in special pedagogy for the youth requiring special care. In 1990, he passed a viva voce doctoral examination at the Faculty of Pedagogy of the Comenius University to obtain the first-degree doctorate, PaedDr. (“Doctor of Pedagogy”). In the period 1984-1987 he taught at the Special Elementary School in Ružomberok. In September 1987 he took up the post of the first manager of the Social Services Facility for Mentally Handicapped Children and Young People in Ružomberok and continued to hold the post until June 1992. Between the beginning of 1980 and end of 1990, he supervised spare-time sporting and hiking activities in the local children’s home as a voluntary outside worker – leader of the young people’s hiking club TOM at the Sports Club BZVIL. Since 1992 he was the paid manager of the Children’s Center (in the period 1990-1992 he exercised this post as a volunteer). In 1996 he was elected the CC’s President, a post he holds also in the current term of office (2009 – 2012).

Viktor Blaho was born on August 13, 1955 in Bánovce nad Bebravou. He is married with 3 children.

Please help us

WITH FINANCE, by sending your contribution to bank account of the Child Centre kept in VÚB, account No 294547342/0200, BIC: SUBASKBX
IBAN: SK75 0200 0000 0002 9454 7342 or by remitting 2% of your income tax to the Child Centre.

WITH MATERIALS, for instance by donating construction materials, audio visual aids, clothes, shoes, sport and tourist materials, blankets, sleeping bags, stationery, computers, foods, toys, medical material, furniture, fuels, cars and other materials needed for summer camps that also serve for children from underprivileged families and are not subsidized from the state budget.

BECOME INVOLVED: Register yourself as volunteer of the Child Centre and help us with your work and your free time. Write us to the address: childcentre(e-mail code)detskecentrum.sk or call to the number +421 903 731 234

WITH MORAL: Write us to the address childcentre(e-mail code)detskecentrum.sk

THANK YOU!

You can visit us any time to make sure that your gift was used effectively. You are welcome!

Michal Matys

partner

Translata, spol. s r.o.

Aupark Tower, Einsteinova 24

851 01 Bratislava, Slovenska republika

ICO: 359 27 836, IC DPH: SK 2021 98 0070

gsm: +421 915 785 022, tel.: +421 2 3260 3131, fax: .+421 2 3214 4144

matys@translata.sk, www.translata.sk