Children of alcoholics families: how we can help?
Review
Alcoholism is one of the social problems in Lithuania. According social report of 2009, there are 1477 children, growing in such families. There are 1451children of 0-3y.a- the most important period for secure attachment development. Taking in to consideration, that in alcoholics' families children experiences physical and emotional deprivation, the risk of attachment disorder is high. Helping families and children, social worker need to value macro, mezzo and micro context, risk factors and resources. According the system theory, for the social work process and results important macro level factors (the relicts of authoritarian system, Power relations, blaming the victims, paternalistic tendencies of social welfare system), mezzo level factors, including loss of community relations and lack of positive social capital, and micro level factors: learning helplessness, parasitic innovativeness, lack of social and parenting skills.
In the field practise with multiproblem families, social workers contact with social, professional and institutional problems. The priority goal of social work with alcoholic's family is child wellbeing. Social worker using crises intervention model in direct practise. According the model, social worker assesses child risk factors, child physical, emotional status, and parents' capability to take care of children. In urgency case to take off child, the priority of fostering child gives to relatives. Working with older children on three main fields: to inform child about alcoholism, to educate psychosocial resistance, and introduce to external relief resources.
Social worker need to recruit community resources, to amplify social network and accessibility for clients; to build up professional network for helping children and make repeatedly family assessment
