P.I.P.P.I., intensive care programme for vulnerable families with young children

admin on 4 March 2022

Girls playing.

Intensive and multidisciplinary intervention programme in vulnerable families to reduce the risk of children being removed from their nuclear family, articulating a set of combined actions in relation to children’s needs: intensive home care, group activities with other parents, accompaniment by volunteer families, and joint work with teachers and social workers from schools and social services.

In line with the aim of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to develop measures to ensure the best interests of the child, the Italian Ministry of Social Welfare, in partnership with the University of Padua, designed and implemented from 2011 this intensive care programme for vulnerable families called the Intervention Programme for the Prevention of Institutionalization. Its abbreviation, P.I.P.P.P.I. is at the same time inspired by the fictional character Pippi Långstrump, a creative and surprisingly resilient girl known all over the world.

As its name suggests, P.I.P.P.P.I. aims to prevent out-of-home care and respond to problems related to child neglect, taking into account the right of all children to quality care. When parental neglect is involved, and there is a subsequent removal of the child, the removal itself expropriates the competence of the parents. This practice does not seem to be the most desirable intervention, so P.I.P.P.Y. experiences a social response that attempts to put the developmental needs of children first.

P.I.P.P.P.Y. represents a co-ordinated and co-operative work between different institutions, professions and disciplines of social services, psychology and pedagogy to act together in order to achieve a reduction in the number of children removed from their families. At the same time, P.I.P.P.P.I. has developed its own tool for the assessment and evaluation of cases based on models from Scotland and Quebec.

P.I.P.P.P.Y. is now widespread throughout Italy, and several academic studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of this intervention model. The evaluation report of the seventh edition of the programme 2018-2020 provides evidence of the bonus results achieved.

Characteristics of innovation

Adolescence and youth, Bank of innovations, Childhood, Families and upbringing, Integrated care, Lab, Link with the community, New model of intervention, Personalization of the service, Prediction and prevention, Proximity care

Location

Italy

Partners/Funders

Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies and the Laboratory for Research and Intervention in Family Education of the University of Padua.

Genesis

The P.I.P.P.P.I. Programme was launched at the end of 2011 as a result of the collaboration between the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the Laboratory of Research and Intervention in Family Education of the University of Padua, involving 206 professionals (social workers, psychologists, home workers, pedagogues…) from 10 child protection services located in 10 cities: Bari, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Calabria Region, Turin and Venice.

Level of implementation

In the academic years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 the Italian Ministry of Welfare launched the first and second phase of P.I.P.P.P.I. implementation involving 82 new cities and about 1,000 children.

In December 2014, the EU Commission for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion submitted P.I.P.P.I. to a Peer Review to open debate and mutual learning among member countries on innovative practices in child protection.

The 2019 P.I.P.P.P.I. won first prize in the Method and Tools section of the European Social Services Awards. The project was recognized for “European excellence in its ability to combine education, action and research through the introduction of scientifically sound instruments”.

Further information

Centro Nazionale di documentazione e analisi per l'infanzia e l'adolescenza

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Alella Poble Cuidador, a community support network in loneliness, illness and the end of life

admin on 4 November 2021

Picture taken from Alella Poble Cuidador’s web.

Community network that promotes the articulation of collective action to care for people in the municipality who suffer from loneliness, a chronic illness or are at the end of life, and their families, so that they feel cared for and accompanied , whether they live in their private home or live in any of the health and social entities in the village. The goal is to create a safe, friendly, and caring community environment for these people.

Alella Poble Cuidador acts in three areas of intervention: care and support, training, and education and awareness. In each area of intervention it has structured a set of resources (families, social and health centers, schools, companies, etc.) to promote the development and use of personal and community skills and resources for the care and the accompaniment, and to assert, throughout the life cycle, the values, beliefs and practices for good living and good dying.

At the same time, it carries out activities such as care and support; group meetings of bereaved people and caregivers; training of professionals and caregivers; support for the preparation of the advance directives document; exchange of orthopedic and sanitary equipment; support for the organization of farewell ceremonies; intergenerational musical encounters; and theatrical lectures.

Emotional and professional support available to everyone.

Citizens of the municipality can participate in the network by registering, at no cost, to benefit from the services offered; becoming network partners and participating in working groups; becoming network volunteers; collaborating financially; or following current affairs and network news.

A consultancy has externally evaluated the results of the program, which can be consulted on the web. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. The network has, in addition to volunteers, a team of specialized professionals.