Child protection specialists to strengthen their knowledge to better support families in difficulty

With the support of UNICEF, approximately 100 professionals from the municipality of Chisinau—including social workers and other specialists with responsibilities in the field of child protection and the direct or indirect provision of the Family Support Service for Families with Children —will strengthen their capacities to provide effective and professional support to families in situations of risk. In this context, on 19–20 August, 10 specialists will participate in a training of trainers, who will subsequently deliver further training sessions.

At the opening session, Irina Spivacenco, Project Coordinator at Partnerships for Every Child, noted that this workshop represents an important step toward strengthening an effective and empathetic social protection system, in which professionals are well prepared and equipped to support families at the right time. She emphasized that the Family Support Service plays a crucial role in preventing child–family separation and in ensuring interventions centered on the specific needs of each family. Through this training, the project aims to provide clear theoretical and practical guidance on the organization and functioning of the service, as well as examples of good practices that have already been successfully applied in the Republic of Moldova. In addition, the trained trainers will remain valuable resources within the General Directorate for the Protection of Children’s Rights of the Municipality of Chisinau, ensuring the continuity of training activities and the multiplication of knowledge across all sectors.

Participants will address topics such as the regulatory and conceptual framework of the Family Support Service, child well-being domains and family protective factors, the responsibilities of various community institutions in preventing risk situations, effective interventions to support families with children, and trauma and its effects on children. The training will also include practical exercises and simulations to strengthen participants’ ability to apply the acquired knowledge in real-life situations.

The development of the Family Support Service is part of a broader effort to respond to the urgent need for family support, enabling families to overcome crisis situations and provide children with a safe and stable environment.

The training is conducted under the UNICEF project “Better Care for Children,” with financial support from the Government of Sweden, implemented by Partnerships for Every Child, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the General Directorate for the Protection of Children’s Rights of the Municipality of Chisinau.