Quality Control and Grievance

The best quality control of treatment and life of the children in our therapeutic home is their progress toward being cured from their mental or physical symptoms. If a child does not progress within a reasonable time, this indicates that a quality is missing in what we provide to that child, we then must scan all we attempted so far to try assess where is the cause for failure. If in spite of our repeated efforts to improve our practice with that child still no progress is started, we must tell the child our concern that we are failing to help ce efficiently and ask ce if ce feels that a change of place would be better for ce. Curing children is the reason for being of this project so we always want to see actual results happening in each child.

Nevertheless, we will never deem that lack of progress with a child is ces fault : it is our responsibility to find efficient ways adapted for each particular child. Also, especially at the beginning with a new child, ce can regress as this too is allowed to meet basic needs in the child left so far unprovided.

In order to facilitate supervision of our home by authorities and guarantee protection of the children, children are encouraged to go and speak with local officials if they feel a need for it. If a child wants to meet ces caseworker or an official, ce is driven to the meeting without having to tell the reason for it, and the meeting may be private between the child and the relevant person.

If they wish so, children are encouraged to speak with any person, professional or member of associations active for the protection of children so that they can tell an outsider how their life is with us, what is good and what is not in their view if such an opinion is easier to express to someone who is not a member of our team. The interviewer can then, if the relevant child wishes so, tell us of any problem in order to help improve our services in case the child would not have opened ces mind directly to us though we encourage free expression and sincerity.

We welcome associations and any person interested by conditions of living and treatment of the children to visit us and meet the children, privately or not if the children want to speak to them and in the manner best suited to the children' s wishes.

Similarly the presence of visitors and trainees in the home can be a guarantee for the protection of the children as such newcomers may question what they witness, though they must be admitted in limited numbers for not altering the homely familylike character of the place. Newcomers can be the recipients of the children' s grievances if the children feel it is easier to confide to them.

We welcome announced and unannounced visits by authorities and any suggestions from them designed to prevent any abuse to occur in the home, or to improve the activities.

Criticism by children : in general, we have to try to not block the children' s expression and not be defensive if they express negative opinions about us or the place, considering that we can always look for improvements and children' s points of view are of the utmost importance as their life is at stake. Active Listening here is again very valuable to help children express fully.

What the children say about what they feel and think about the way they are being treated has to be dutifully granted the best attention and recorded as this works as permanent quality control for what every assistant does.

For the matter to be fully known in order to remedy it, each time a child expresses a criticism it has to be reported, with ces permission, to the next team meeting to discuss it with no delay.

Drifts between these guidelines and everyday life : we have to keep in mind the present guidelines and assess the everyday reality of life in the home so to grasp the discrepancies between what we intend to do and what actually happens. In this concern everybody little or big is always welcomed to call attention on such failures.

Positive indicators : please see the Positive Indicators page as they are evidence of good quality practice in progress when present.

rev. 2013