Family Assistance − Key Skills and Competences

Abstract

The family is the fundamental environment for every human being’s development. A functional family is the basic component of the common good. Presently, situations often exist in which a family cannot cope with fulfilling important tasks, so it becomes inefficient, inconsiderate, and problematic. Part of the responsibility for the proper functioning of such a family is taken over by institutions and professionals supporting the family, and family assistance recently joined this group.

Family assistance is a “young” profession, introduced in 2012, and by the end of 2014, it was an optional solution. As of January 1, 2015, the obligation to employ family assistants was imposed on every community. The profession of a family assistant is still developing. More and more assistants are being recruited from year to year, which points to their high demand. However, the organizational context of the profession still needs to be clarified. Issues such as the competence of family assistants, their workshop, methods, tools and qualifications are particularly important issues when considering the difficulty of working with a dysfunctional family.

The main purpose of the article is to indicate the preferred competences and skills needed to perform the profession of a family assistant, and thus the prerequisites for improving the service quality of family assistants. The presented position results from the analysis of research carried out among family assistants in 2016-2017. Research shows, among others, new challenges and needs in meeting competences.