The project intends to improve the quality of life to families with unfavorable conditions for a child’s development. The project will focus on creation of a new, innovative type of social services - a “Family Assistant”. The service will be available to families with children residing in Saldus region, Skrunda region and Kabile parish in Kuldīga region, where wholesome socialization of children is not ensured.
Within the project it is planed to conduct a study “On collaboration forms, possibilities and needs of families subject to social risk and assistants to improve the quality of life of the local community”; to elaborate a programme “Training of family assistants” — selection of 37 assistants and their involvement in training, organization of camps and two consultations (seminars to family assistants); to ensure three hours of individual psychologist consultations to each family assistant.
Target group: children, families with children and volunteers.

Project results: The main aim of the Project „Innovative service – family assistant” was to form a new and innovative kind of service – „Family assistant” for families with children in where there is no full-fledged socialization of children and which are evaluated as dysfunctional with low level of social skills. The project goal is achieved - social service "Family assistant" is legally established and implemented in Saldus district municipality.
The main project activities and results were:
- conducted a study “On collaboration forms, possibilities and needs of families subject to social risk and assistants to improve the quality of life of the local community”,
- development of 40 hour training program “Family assistant”,
- selection of assistants and involvement in training,
- training of 38 family assistants,
- 2 consultations-seminars for family assistants,
- 3 hour individual consultations for each family assistant,
- volunteer work of family assistants (3884 visits in social risk families performed),
- 13 14-day camps organized (201 participants),
- administration of the project,
- publicity measures.
The Project focused on two target groups:
38 volunteers, who mastered the basic knowledge and became the family assistants.
71 families in which grow up 169 children from Saldus, Skrundas district.
Project was implemented in 15 places – 10 parishes of Saldus district, 5 parishes of Skrunda district .
Project partners activities:
Psychologists of a Society ‘Facilities school’ carried a study of the project activity No 1. A study was as a basis for a development of the training course. The main problems in families identified during the study. The study found necessary/desirable personality traits to perform an assistant duties, attitudes and abilities of assistants. Risks in service implementation also identified.
Society ‘Together for Kabile , Agency of Saldus county municipality ‘Social service’, Agency of Skrundas county municipality ‘Social service’ realized the following tasks:
1. Recruited volunteers to participate in project and to become a family assistants; activity No 3 ‘Selection and involvement in training’;
2. Identified the families with low self-care skills, inability to plan their financial means, addictions, deficient understanding about children needs and other problems, the families which were invited to participate in day camps (activity No 6) and they cooperated with family assistant.
3. Provided the premises for project activities No 6 ‘Day camps’;
4. Provided the information to homepages, activity No 10.
Cooperation with all project partners assessed positively. Project partner Society ‘Together for Kabile’ missed activity No 6 ‘Day camps’, because the family which was planned to participate in project, left Kabile parish. Trained assistant went abroad and that is why camps were not organized.
Achieved results:
- Performed 1 research “About the forms of collaboration between social risk families and assistants, opportunities and needs of local community for life quality improvement”,
- Developed 1 program “Training of family assistants”,
- Selected 38 assistants and involved in training,
- Trained 38 family assistants,
- Performed volunteer work of family assistants,
- 182 day camps provided,
- 2 consultations-seminars for family assistants provided,
- 3 hours individual psychologist consultations provided for each family assistant,
- administration of the project during entire project.