Advice and help
Social services for childhood and child protection
There are numerous questions regarding the development of children and the corresponding counseling and support options.
- If a mother is not married at the time of birth, an applicationcan be madehere to acknowledge paternity or establish paternity.
- Parents who are not married to each other can declare joint custody oftheir child here .
- In special forms of family formation, such as adoption, a wide range of counseling services are offered for relinquishing parents and couples and individuals wishing to adopt.
Counseling for conflicts and crises
In the event of crises or conflicts in the family, you will be supportedby competent counsellors in the family counsellingservice of the city of Jena in perceiving the different needs of the individual family members, better recognizing relationship patterns and their effects within the family and mobilizing your own resources in order to develop solutions for your own family with the new perspectives and experiences.
The social workers at the youth welfare office also offer advice and support for children, young people, parents and other guardians in crises, such as problems at daycare or school, parenting issues or other crisis situations in the family or family environment.
Integration assistance
If children, adolescents or young adults are significantly restricted in their ability to participate in society due to a disability or are at risk of such a significant disability, you can apply for integration assistanceservices here .
Guardianship
If parents are no longer able or allowed to represent the interests of their children, the children are given an (official) guardian/caretaker to ensure their legal representation.
Carers and guardiansalso receive regular advice and support from the youth welfare office in line with the educational needs of their ward.
Child protection
As part of child protection, social workers offer support in crises and measures to avert a risk to a child's welfare if parents are unable to attend or are suddenly absent, young people can no longer live with their parents or in cases of domestic violence, physical or mental abuse of children and young people.
For professionals
People who are in professional contact with children and young people are entitled to advice from an experienced professional. As part of an anonymous case consultation, indications of a risk to the child's welfare are analyzed together with the case manager and the experienced specialist, risk factors and resources of the social environment and the family system are examined and the next steps are determined.
Support in the development of children
Children sometimes need temporary support in their development. There are appropriate services for this, which can be used depending on individual needs.
For children between the ages of 8 and 12 who are insecure and reserved in their social behavior, the family counseling service offers a weekly group session in which they learn together how to assert themselves in everyday life.
Impulsive children between the ages of 8 and 12 who tend to have aggressive conflict resolution strategies can take part in a weekly group program to practice, among other things, the perception and expression of feelings, perspective-taking and problem-solving in social situations.
In the concentration traininggroup offered by the family counseling service, children and parents are made aware of attention-promoting strategies in the work process. The aim of the weekly program is to practice certain techniques to improve concentration in primary school children.
Psychological performance diagnostics are used to determine a child's strengths and weaknesses and to identify initial support tips. In addition, the results of the diagnostics can be used to provide advice on a child's school career and the choice of a suitable type of school.