The bridge provides support in children's local environment

The bridge provides support in the local environment for children and families. 

The Bridge is a procedure that has been run by the City of Hafnarfjörður for the past few years. The procedure has promoted increased cooperation between the systems and departments involved in the welfare of children and their parents. The development of Brúin began in 2016 when staff from the Department of Family and Child Affairs and the Department of Education and Public Health felt there was a need for increased cooperation and integration of services from these departments. „Staff in the departments noticed that sometimes the same families were being served for different reasons, and there was a lack of an overall view of the resources that families received from the local authority. There was also a perceived need to find procedures and methods for providing tiered services at an earlier stage.“ says Eiríkur Þorvarðarson, Head of the Education and Public Health Department.

^{Hulda and Eiríkur agree that a tiered approach to resources was sorely lacking before. With Brúarinnar's procedure, it is now possible to provide resources earlier and without a diagnosis. Eiríkur and Hulda with the team from Brúin's family and support services, of which Hulda is also a part. THE NEWS PAPER/ERNIR}

Following this, Hulda Björk Finnsdóttir was appointed as the project manager of Brúin. The department, family and school services of Brúin was then established, operating across both areas. The department's advisers have a cross-disciplinary background and support Brúin's procedures, providing services to families at an earlier stage. Initially, a number of the town's nurseries and primary schools took part in the development, until the 2020-2021 academic year, when all nurseries and primary schools had begun to participate in the procedure.

The bridge between systems, stages and departments 

„The procedure is based on analyses and material from various professional groups and institutions over recent decades, which have indicated that early support in a child's local environment needs to be strengthened so that interventions can be made with less intensive resources. The dream is to be able to provide children and parents with appropriate services and resources before a diagnosis is made.“ says Eiríkur. „The Bridge's procedures provide for increased collaboration with healthcare for nursery and primary school children.“ says Hulda. The tiering of the service matters. The service is divided into three tiers. Early support is defined under tier one. Here, schools provide support using their own resources. „There are various things that can be done in the first instance if a child is experiencing challenges and difficulties at school. Training can be set up around learning, interviews can be held, the child can be given adapted learning materials, increased encouragement, and so on.“ says Eiríkur.

If further support is needed, the matter is referred to the next tier, where multidisciplinary support is provided through the schools' bridge team. This team includes school-based professionals, along with relevant advisers. The role of the bridge teams is to map the child's situation and seek joint solutions to support the child and their family. In the bridge team, the child's learning, strengths, behaviour and development are discussed with the parents' consent, and appropriate resources, both within and outside the school, are mobilised to intervene earlier. This integration of services is always carried out in consultation with the parents. When more specialised support, such as a diagnosis for the child, is needed, the matter is referred to a psychologist or a speech and language therapist. If the issue has become more complex, the matter is referred to the third tier, to child protection.

Building better bridges

„Since the introduction of Brúin, collaboration between all parties involved has increased. More resources are available and the level of service is more diverse. We also offer increased training to schools on topics such as ADHD, anxiety and attachment issues. With this work, we aim to empower school staff even more effectively to work with the child's strengths and weaknesses,“ says Hulda.

„Brúin is a comprehensive approach with an emphasis on tiered services. The Brúin's procedures are in line with the Act on the Integration of Services for the Well-being of Children, which came into force at the turn of the year. Brúin is in constant development and review within the municipality. This is not a temporary project, but a changed approach to services for children and families in the City of Hafnarfjörður. “Advisors from both departments and the school headteachers agree that the 'Brúin' procedure promotes better integration between systems and earlier solutions in children's matters. The results have therefore become tangible," says Hulda at last.

An interview with Hulda and Eirík was published in Fréttablaðið on Thursday, 3 March 2022.