African families service

This is joint service of the Tower Hamlets Child Protection Social Work team and Child Mental Health services.

We offer help to African parents and carers on ways to manage their children that fits both with cultural traditions and British legal standards. The African Families Service works with you to find solutions that meet the needs of your family.

We have observed that many children in African families exhibit emotional and behavioural problems. Take-up help in child mental health services is sometimes poor.

This is our way of providing a service that offers a better ‘fit’ with families’ expectations and needs. Our service that is protective of African children, respectful, empowers parents and contributes to their psychological well-being.

The African Families Service covers:

• Families where parents originate in any part of Africa
• Children who may have been raised in African and joined their parents later
• African children who may have been raised in the UK

Philosophy

For African children and parents, migrating to the UK may cause a sense of disconnection from their cultural identity and a sense of alienation. Our service re-connects families to their original cultural values and helps them to integrate more successfully to life in the UK.

Work with parents, carers & special guardians

We first work to gain the trust of parents / carers by supplying information about our service and its legal framework before attempting to involve their children.

These may include information about:

• parental practices
• how they may conflict with British norms or laws

We provide training for parents and carers working with black African children and families. Our team also works in partnership with Christian places of worship.

The training will help parents/carers in the following ways.

• Feel confident
• Be effective parents/carers
• Better help their to children grow up in the UK

We hope that by forming a relationship of mutual respect with parents / carers, it will be possible to work directly with their children.

Work with children

Individual or sibling group work with children will often start by using an ‘eco-map’ to chart their network of important relationships and to ascertain their extended self. They look for evidence of integration and cohesion between the individual identity and the familial extended self and cultural identity.

Where there is disconnection and alienation, our work will help to reconnect, support the development and maintenance of positive Black identity by valuing cultural traditions and an appreciation of the opportunities and constraints involved in growing up in the UK. A further ‘eco-map’ at the end of this work will measure these changes.

Work with families

Service workers will be practical and problem – focused when working with families, recognising that everyone has the right to fully participate in the decision making processes that affect their lives.

Our work empowers communities to develop their independence and autonomy whilst making and maintaining links to the wider society.

We undertake our work by valuing and using the skills, knowledge, experience and diversity within communities to bring about desired changes.

Work with other professionals

Service workers recognise that other professionals locally and nationally also need support in managing problematic behaviour and will include these professionals in their work.

Where does the work take place?

The work can take place at a venue of your choice. For example:

• your home
• children services office
• children centre
• a health centre
• the child’s school
• a place of worship
• a community centre
• home of a significant other

How long does the work last?

Our meetings usually last between one and a half to two hours, every two to three weeks. The work lasts for as long as the family continues to find it helpful, which is generally between six months to one year.

The following are examples of some of the issues we focus on in our work:

• Children who are manifesting unacceptable behaviour at school
• Children who are finding it difficult to communicate with their parents / carers about their problems
• Children who have moved to join their families in the UK and are struggling to manage the transitional period
• Parents / carers who are experiencing difficulties in their relationship with other agencies; e.g. children services, education
• Parents / carers who are having difficulties in managing their children at home
• Children and families who are suffering racial discrimination or harassment
• Issues relating to unaccompanied minors or child trafficking in the UK
• Issues relating to child slavery & prostitution, female genital mutilation and child abuse linked to spirit possession
• Issues relating to children who are privately fostered

Evaluation

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of our work, families will be interviewed at the end of programme by an independent member about the usefulness of the service.

For further details, to answer any questions you may have or to discuss referrals, please contact:

Amma Anane-Agyei,
Coordinator - AFS
tel: 020 7364 2192
email: Amma.Anane-agyei@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Alastair Pearson,
Social Worker - CAMHS
tel: 020 7540 6789
email: Alastair.Pearson@elcmht.nhs.uk