In the framework of the Programme Strengthening the Rights of Children and Youth in Angola UNICRI, in collaboration with CIES (Centro Informazione e Educazione allo Sviluppo) an Italian NGO, has published the Manual entitled: Manual Teórico e Prático para Operadores Sociais no Âmbito do Julgado de Menores.

The manual describes, through a systemic approach, the role of the family as the nucleus of a child’s development. The family constitutes a preventive measure against juvenile offending. The chapters focus on the first level of professional skills: it aims to give professionals working in many different backgrounds (e.g. social, legal, security and educational) the opportunity to deepen the main theories regarding the function of the family. The manual enriches the knowledge of professionals working with minors and enhances their competence to recognize the dysfunctional dynamics and processes of child development. The last paragraph takes into account the child-street-family relationship and presents an intervention model to help children to reintegrate themselves in their families and to develop positive social skills in order to avoid resorting to criminal activity and violence.

The socialization of the child within the family is the main priority. The family represents an important component as an influence and a guarantee that will ensure the future of the child.

The manual has been distributed among various Angolan and Italian institutes working with minors during various training courses, which have been organized in Luanda, Angola, in the months of May and June 2009. It has been mostly distributed among police officers, legal staff, social educators and other professionals working in the field of Juvenile Justice.