Mother-child housing is a care facility for expectant underage or adult mothers and women with their children up to the age of 3 or 6, who are in difficult phases of life. Within the framework of temporary accommodation, with a duration of stay of at least six months up to a maximum of two years, the mothers are provided with a small flat.

Within the framework of the care, work is done on the mothers’ bonding and parenting skills, and the focus is on developing a daily structure that is appropriate for the age and the child, with priorities that promote development and are appropriate for the child. Adequate pedagogical approaches and appropriate parenting strategies are to be learned and the responsibility for upbringing is to be strengthened. The primary goal is to ensure the best interests of the child while the child/children remain with the mother.

Official Name of Signatory

State of Carinthia (Austria)

Delegation

Europe

Website of the Signatory

Name of the person presenting the Good Practice

Christine Gaschler-Andreasch

Position/Job Title of person presenting the Good Practice

Head of sub-department

Aim of the Good Practice

The goals can be presented on three levels. 1. at the level of the mothers 2. at the level of mother-child interaction 3. at the level of the social environment The exact objectives are submitted in a separate document.

Target Group of the Good Practice

Admission to mother-child residential care takes place when (underage) child mothers find themselves in crisis situations with considerable difficulties and thus an adequate physical, psychological, and/or social development of their children cannot be guaranteed. The target group is basically all (underage) mothers who, due to their personality development or personal situation, are only able to take care of and raise their children to a limited extent.

Implementation period

Permanently installed offer. Duration of stay 6 to 24 months

Consistency over time

Establishment and demand-oriented expansion (opening of a 24/7 supervised facility in 2021)

Evaluation of the Good Practice

High demand and positive feedback on the offer through ongoing exchange with the responsible/ case-leading social workers of the district administrative authorities. Once a year, unannounced professional supervision for ongoing monitoring of compliance with the legal provisions and for quality assurance.

Key stakeholders and partnerships

AVS (Support organization), Social workers at the district administrative authorities.

Link for more information

Future Goal 1

Continuous qualitative development of the offer in order to meet the needs of the target groups more appropriately.

Future Goal 2

Maintenance of the offer and demand-oriented resource design