In “Casa San José” of Cochabamba, the Community of Saint Paul Combines Family Reintegration with Schooling for the Children
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The goal of la “Casa San José” is the reintegration of children who are living on the streets back into their family homes. There, we have a conflict of priorities, and have recently tried to find a solution.
When the children arrive at the center, a period of intensive work begins. During this time, the psychologist, the social worker and the educators focus on all of the psychological and emotional aspects of the children, as well as their habits, behavior and discipline. This is done through several workshops, with the goal of achieving the child’s reintegration into his family. During this time children do not attend school. That is why we try to keep children at the center only for the time that is absolutely necessary. In fact, the law recognizes the importance of such a period, and the courts do not authorize formal schooling for the children during this time.
The problem begins when the children are ready to return to their families: the family’s suitability has been assessed, the parents have attended parenting classes at the center, but then, due to bureaucratic delays, the legal process takes several months —and during this time the kids cannot return home yet, and they cannot attend school either. And as the saying goes, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
This situation worries us. Even though our top priority is to restore the family unit, it is a shame not to be able to integrate the children back into school sooner. After thinking much about this and meeting with parents, we found a solution. The families agreed to enroll their children in the schools of their respective neighborhoods, pick up their children at “Casa San José” daily, bring them to school and return them to our center in the afternoon. Even though it represents a major effort on their part, they understood that it was worthwhile to do this, so that the children would not miss a school year. In this way, we’ve been able to bring together family and school, without having to choose one or another.
When the children arrive at the center, a period of intensive work begins. During this time, the psychologist, the social worker and the educators focus on all of the psychological and emotional aspects of the children, as well as their habits, behavior and discipline. This is done through several workshops, with the goal of achieving the child’s reintegration into his family. During this time children do not attend school. That is why we try to keep children at the center only for the time that is absolutely necessary. In fact, the law recognizes the importance of such a period, and the courts do not authorize formal schooling for the children during this time.
The problem begins when the children are ready to return to their families: the family’s suitability has been assessed, the parents have attended parenting classes at the center, but then, due to bureaucratic delays, the legal process takes several months —and during this time the kids cannot return home yet, and they cannot attend school either. And as the saying goes, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
This situation worries us. Even though our top priority is to restore the family unit, it is a shame not to be able to integrate the children back into school sooner. After thinking much about this and meeting with parents, we found a solution. The families agreed to enroll their children in the schools of their respective neighborhoods, pick up their children at “Casa San José” daily, bring them to school and return them to our center in the afternoon. Even though it represents a major effort on their part, they understood that it was worthwhile to do this, so that the children would not miss a school year. In this way, we’ve been able to bring together family and school, without having to choose one or another.
