Objectives

Terre des hommes Romania, Terre des hommes Greece, and Terre des hommes Hungary work together with Defense for Children Netherlands, Child Rights Center - Serbia, Child Circle - Belgium and SAPI - Bulgaria in the implementation of Focus.The Focus project is co-funded by the European Union's Rights, Equality and Citizenship program and will be implemented from January 2020 to March 2022.

The specific actions within the project include a study; the development of specific training materials; regional training; the development of pilot and monitoring plans in the target countries; national training sessions; the production of information materials made by children, as well as creative advocacy materials; and an online training course for professionals from all over Europe.

In parallel, children are informed about their right to an individual assessment so that they can participate in all stages of the project, through children's advisory commissions.

A regional mutual learning report will also be developed to assess the tools, practices, and procedures for assessing children in contact with the law – both victims and perpetrators. Data will be collected in the target countries to create a roadmap for professionals across Europe who want to conduct such assessments. Representatives of national authorities will be involved at all stages of the project.

Expected results include a greater capacity of juvenile justice professionals to work from a multidisciplinary perspective to assess children (whether they are victims or perpetrators of a criminal offense). Restorative justice will be promoted among these professionals, and children will learn more about their rights and be involved in advocacy.

The Focus project is co-funded by the European Union's Rights, Equality and Citizenship program.