FICE Germany
IGfH - A lobby in the service of young people, their families and guardians in the child and youth welfare system
The „Internationale Gesellschaft für erzieherische Hilfen (IGfH, translated to „international association for family support services“)“ is a national and - as the German section of the FICE International Network - an international professional organization for the perspectives, rights and particiaption of young people in residential and non-residential child and youth care services and the future development of these support systems.
We see ourselves as a lobby and service platform for the welfare, rights, and participation of young people who receive family support or live in care outside their original families. Our work includes close cooperation with self-advocacy groups of care-experienced youth and/or young adults.
We place a strong emphasis on the perspectives of young people and families in the youth welfare system and aim to amplify their voices across practice, politics, and research. We are committed to inclusive child and youth welfare for all young people. „Inclusive“ in our sense not only refers to barriers faced by young people with disabilities, but also the dimensions of residence status, refugee experience, migration, gender-specific experiences of discrimination, racial discrimination, social background/experience of classism, leaving care as a life situation and housing.
To pursue this, we:
- Organize national congresses and specialist conferences and try to multiply rights-based social work through and amongst professionals
- Offer training programs for professionals
- Publish books, practice-transfer-brochures, a monthly newsletter, a scientific journal „Forum Erziehungshilfen“ and political position papers
- Support and co-conduct research projects, for example:
- CLS - the first long-term panel-study in the German context on the social participation and support networks of care leavers, www.cls-studie.de
- the advisory forum „JUGEND STÄRKEN: Brücken in die Eigenständigkeit“ which deals with the necessary infrastructure and support services for young people who are particularly hard to reach or deal with special vulnerabilities, https://beratungsforum-jugend.de/
- Initiate policy advocacy and media work
- Run participatory workshops with self-advocates and link these perspectives with professionals, politicians and legislation development processes
Our overall-goal: to strengthen rights-based social work and make youth participation a reality in all aspects of child and youth welfare. We are commited to foster sustaining, democratic and inclusive services in the sense of young people and their families.
The IGfH is structured through:
- Regional working groups from across the German federal states
- Specialist working groups on residential care, outpatient care, and child custody/taking into care
- An elected assembly of delegates and a board, renewed every three years
The IGfH is independent of political parties and religious affiliations.
Internationally, we are part of the FICE network, founded in 1948 with support from UNESCO. Today, FICE includes national sections and continental networks from all over the world. FICE is an NGO partner of UNICEF, the Council of Europe, and ECOSOC. FICE works together for the best interest of vulnerable children and children who grow up in alternative care. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, comprising 40 crucial articles, serves as a cornerstone for children's well-being. FICE Europe wholeheartedly embraces this Convention.The IGfH is also a member of the German Parity Welfare Association.
For more information about FICE, please see:
www.ficeinter.net