Child protection rethought: Catholic family association presents concept

Child protection rethought: Catholic family association presents concept

The Vienna Catholic Family Association has developed a comprehensive child protection concept for its “Grandma Service” to guarantee the safety and well-being of children, families and surrogate grandmas. Association chairman Konrad Pleyer explained that the concept documents prevention measures and a clear code of conduct for dealing with suspected cases. It includes a reporting system and contact addresses for offers of help and is intended to help prevent border violations and attacks. Pleyer emphasized that the qualifications of the surrogate grandmothers were of great importance even before the concept was introduced, as each surrogate grandmother is known personally and a criminal record certificate is required, in addition to mandatory pedagogical training. Loud kathpress.at The new concept is intended to represent a “further pillar of greater transparency” in the family unit.

The great interest in surrogate grandmothers continues unabated because there is a high demand from families who are looking for reliable care for their children. According to the Catholic Family Association of the Diocese of St. Pölten, a surrogate grandmother from Mistelbach was recently honored as a “person of the heart”. This happened in the context of many families approaching the association in recent months to find urgently needed surrogate grandmothers. However, this service, which is active not only in St. Pölten but throughout Lower Austria, continues to struggle for financial support. The financing of the grandma service is difficult to maintain without funding or sponsors, which is why the association is asking the state to reconsider. MyDistrict.at reports that the grandma service helps bring older people together with families, who can then develop trusting relationships and benefit from the life experience of the surrogate grandmas.