Social service providers completed training in Strong Families Programme as part of UN-Turkmenistan Joint Programme on social services

The training was held in compliance with the Strong Families Programme and aimed at building capacity of social service providers to pilot three community-based social services led by the UNODC as part of UN-Turkmenistan Joint Programme, which are Social Services for Parents with Addictions, Social Services for Adolescents at Risk of Contact with Criminal Justice and Social Service for Families with Children in Difficult Life Situations. During the five-day intensive training, 20 people from 7 governmental and non-governmental social service providers enhanced their knowledge and improved their professional preparation to carry out group sessions with families in Ashgabat.  

The Strong Families Programme, designed for challenged settings, provides an evidence-informed prevention response to substance use, youth violence and crime by building family skills. These skills help with healthy and safe development of children from both genders. The programme was adapted to local context to serve families in difficult life situations. The training aimed to prepare specialists to help parents in improving their confidence in family management skills, improving parenting skills, improving child behavior and increasing their capacity to cope with stress.

It is expected that social service providers in velayats will also have an opportunity to receive training according to the Strong Family Programme in August as UNODC aims to pilot new community-based social services with national partners in the cities of Turkmenabat and Mary as well.     

The Joint Programme “Improving the system of social protection through the introduction of inclusive quality community-based social services”, funded by the Joint SDG Fund, is being implemented by the partnering UN agencies, namely, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, and UNODC and Government of Turkmenistan. The Joint Programme aims to introduce a new model of social services at the community level accompanied by relative legislative reviews and capacity building of national social service workforce. The lead national partner is the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Turkmenistan and the lead UN agency is UNICEF. Other key national partners include the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, and Ministry of Finance and Economy.

Implementation period: 2020-2022.