E-learning course: Early help and early interventions in child protection

Child protection, early help, prevention, interdisciplinarity, e-learning

10/2013-12/2017

In recent years, there have been numerous professional and political initiatives at federal, state and municipal level to expand early help services and establish new services. The e-learning course "Early help and early interventions in child protection", which was developed as part of these initiatives between April 2009 and June 2011 with funding from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Family, Women and Senior Citizens, addresses the problem of the lack of systematic training and further education in the "help landscape" of early help. The course provides interdisciplinary knowledge and comprehensive skills in the field of early help and child protection and is aimed at professionals from child and youth welfare, healthcare, early intervention, pregnancy counselling, family courts and all those who work with families with infants and young children.

The aim of the project "E-learning course on early help and early intervention in child protection" is to promote the web-based learning programme more widely, to evaluate it comprehensively and to develop a concept for the sustainable establishment of the course.

The e-learning course "Early help and early interventions in child protection" and the associated online platform were launched in June 2011 and have been continuously visited by social workers, psychologists, gynaecologists, midwives, paediatricians, family court judges, etc. ever since. More than 8760 people are currently registered to take part in the certified training programme. 1225 users have already successfully completed the course (as of October 2017). Since October 2014, all newly registered participants have been surveyed in a pre-post design regarding their knowledge gain, practical benefits and satisfaction with the e-learning course (4812 new registrations since 2014, as of October 2017).

• Bressem, K., Ziegenhain, U., Doelitzsch, C., Hofer, A., Besier, T., Fegert, J.M. & Kuenster, A.K. (2016). A German e-learning-training in the context of early preventive intervention and child protection: preliminary findings of a pre-post evaluation. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 10 (25). DOI: 10.1186/s13034-016-0113-8.
• Künster, A.K.. & Ziegenhain, U. (2014). Parental sensitivity and child development - the parental sensitivity scale as a practical tool for counselling young parents. Hebamme.ch, 3, 22-27.
• Weber, J., Ziegenhain, U., Fegert, J. M., Haegele, A., Kuenster, A. K. (2012). Evaluation of the e-learning training course "Frühe Hilfen und Frühe Interventionen im Kinderschutz". Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie, 10, 750 - 765.
• Ziegenhain, U. & Künster, A.K. (2014): Final report: 'Development and coordination of early help in Braunschweig'.
• 2013: Forum Kriminalprävention: Journal of the German Forum for Crime Prevention Foundation: Digital Society: Risks and Prevention. Sexual abuse and prevention, interview with Prof Dr Ziegenhain.
• 2014: Private Wealth: Assets, prosperity, values. Help at an early stage. Interview with Prof Dr Fegert and Dr Anne Katrin Künster.