A significant issue is related financing the work of family assistance specialists. It is mainly about delayed payment of funds from the state budget. As a consequence, the fluctuation ratio among family assistants is quite high. Therefore, according to NIK the Minister of Labour and Social Policy should take proper steps to streamline allocation of funds within the programme.
NIK also recommends amending the Law on Family Support and Foster Care System to make it obligatory for family assistance specialists and custodians to collaborate while they work with the same family.
Considering that more and more children having their biological families are sent to foster families, the Polish SAI also recommends systematic gathering of nationwide data about the reasons why children are removed from their biological families. Periodical analysis of such data would help, among other things, to provide tailor-made training programmes to family assistance specialists.
The family assistance is addressed to the families who cannot handle everyday issues, including the bringing up of their children, and are often struggling with poverty, addictions or violence. The family assistance specialists also support such families in doing household chores and taking care of administrative matters. They are not to relieve the families of their duties but to show them some model behaviours and help them manage on their own. In case when a child needs to be covered by foster care, the family assistance specialists take efforts to bring the child back to its biological family.
