Competent Child Protection Worker
Enhancing Child’s Right for the Participation in Child Protection Assessment (COMPENCA), 2020-2023
COMPENCA is the first joint project of CIRIC, started in November 2020 with the focus on children’s right to express themselves during decision-making.
COMPENCA promotes future and current child protection workers’ access to knowledge, and the continued effort to professionalise the workforce and their duty to enforce the rights of the child. Studies indicate that assessment practices in Estonia and Norway are done for the child rather than with the child, which is in breach of the Convention on the Rights of the Child Art. 12.2, which stipulates that children are legally entitled to be heard during child protection casework. In order to increase competence and support the professional growth, an e-book will be published and short-term courses held for the educators to address best practices and methods to effectively engage children in the participation process. Therefore, the main objective of the book is to explain and discuss children’s right to express themselves during decision-making and assessment process in child protection services. The aim of the book is to be instructive to the workforce, ensuring a deeper impact on the field of practice, and consequently how children and their families are treated by the services. This project has received funding from the EEA and Norway Grants 2014 – 2021.
Published publications
Introductory video of the project can be viewed HERE
Falch-Eriksen, A., & Toros, K. (2022). Professional Practice in Child Protection and the Child’s Right to Participate. New York: Routledge. An open access book, download HERE
Falch-Eriksen, A., & Toros, K. (2022). Lastekaitsetöö ja lapse osalusõigus. Tallinna Ülikool: CIRIC. An open access book in Estonian, download HERE Book presentation seminar (December 7, 2022) can be viewed HERE
Toros, K. (2022). Osalus on lapse parimates huvides tehtud otsuse eeltingimus. Märka Last, 11, 18–19. Loe SIIN
Toros, K. (2022). Kuidas mõista lapse osalusõigust lastekaitsetöös? Raamat „Lastekaitsetöö ja lapse osalusõigus“ Sotsiaaltöö. Loe SIIN
Toros, K., Falch-Eriksen, A., Sindi, I., & Saia, K. (2022). Child´s Right to Participate in Child Protective Services. Tallinn University, 07.12.2022. Watch the recording of the seminar HERE
Falch-Eriksen, A., & Toros, K. (2024). Å uttrykke seg i barnevernet: Profesjonell praksis og barnets rett. Universitetsforlaget/Scandinavian University Press. see HERE
