Where I live … is a student home. Most students come from Upper Austria … We have a common kitchen, a large kitchen. We meet there, and for example we talk, we cook, sometimes all together … It is a very nice place and the people are very nice … And there is an opportunity to speak and learn German; [ since ] I live in Austria, this is certainly good for me … I live with a lot of Austrians and we talk … I can learn something from them, you see. For example Austrians laws, and the rights and obligations I have... I can talk to my friends [ in the student home ]. They are really happy to explain things to me. And they say, you can ask us any time if you have a question, and if we know, then we will help you. They ' re really nice and I ' m happy that I can ask them questions, it ' s really good.
Fawad, 18-year-old-boy from Afghanistan asylum is funded and sometimes directly provided by youth welfare services. In some areas, however, children remain in the same facilities even after being granted refugee status.
Following increased numbers of unaccompanied children arriving in the country, local families have expressed willingness to take them in, so some local governments have intensified their efforts in this area.
Other challenges in providing care for unaccompanied and separated children in Austria include difficulties in implementing durable solutions, insufficient guardianship provisions, family reunification restrictions and limited support in transitioning to adulthood. 4
THE PRACTICE
As part of its semi-independent living programme for children without parental care, SOS Children’ s Village Salzburg implements a living arrangement for children between the ages of 16 and 18 with refugee status which enables children to receive support while living in student residence facilities. The living arrangement is designed to guide children on their path to independent adulthood in a natural group environment, among their Austrian and international peers, where they are not automatically identified as refugees but are perceived as students, just like anybody else at the student facility. Depending on education needs, the support provided can be extended up to the age of 21. Child refugees are referred by child and youth services.
At the moment the project works with two young people sharing a room at a Salzburg student residence facility operated by the Austrian non-profit organisation ÖJAB. The young people live independently and receive 10 hours of individualised support per week by a team of youth care professionals. They are also supported by the staff of the student facility. Rather than focusing on the small challenges of day-to-day life, the social pedagogical services by SOS Children’ s Village Salzburg youth care workers are focused on helping the young people achieve development goals such as the following:
• Recognise their individual strengths and weaknesses
• Develop their attitudes and skills
4 _ Saskia Heilemann,“ The Accommodation and Care System for Unaccompanied Minors in Austria”, Social Work and Society International Online Journal( 2017) http:// www. socwork. net / sws / article / view / 494 / 998.
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