Children belong
in families.
Our Step Ahead Theory of Change is simple:
If we DELIVER SERVICES, BUILD CAPACITY, ADVOCATE, and COLLABORATE, then families will have the skills, tools and resources they need to raise biological children in their own home. In the absence of a suitable environment with a biological family, children will be raised in family-based alternative care.
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We envision all children in Thailand growing up in safe and nurturing families.
OUR SERVICES
Our team delivers innovative and dynamic direct-care services in a partnership model with families living in marginalized communities to protect and support their children. Whether they are urban families or rural villagers in the south; we start with their strengths, not weaknesses. With the right support, mentoring, and coaching — fortified families flourish.
1. KEEPING FAMILIES TOGETHER
Step Ahead’s flagship program, Keeping Families Together (KFT) is a comprehensive, evidence-based 18-month program designed to strengthen families to prevent separation. KFT gives families the tools they need to succeed in sustaining a safe and nurturing home for their children. Through holistic development training, income generation assistance, educational opportunities, psychosocial support and health access families are fortified.
Click on the images below to see our KFT Training Journey
Skill Development
MODULE 1 – WHAT IS FAMILY?
- Family Tree
- Ecomap
- Recent Life Events Questionnaire
- Family Activity Scale
MODULE 2 – FAMILY FINANCES
- Daily Finance Worksheet
- Debt Reduction Plan
- Extended Family Expectations
- Emergency Planning
- Needs vs Wants & Savings
- Wellbeing Discussion
MODULE 3 – CHILD PROTECTION
- Forms of Abuse
- Do’s and Don’ts
- Health Resources
- Protection in the Home
- Safety Plan of Action
- Community Safe Spaces
- SWOT Analysis
Strategize With
MODULE 4 – SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD
- Business Idea
- Simple Survey
- Business Plan
- Management Plan
- Marketing Strategy
- Income Generation Grant
Synthesize
MODULE 5 – POSITIVE PARENTING
- Responsibilities of a Parent
- Principles of Positive Discipline
- Discipline Vs. Punishment
- Regular Parenting Check-Ins
- Parenting Resources
MODULE 6 – HEALTH & HYGIENE
- Children’s Good Habits/Bad Habits
- Health Resources Located
- Health & Hygiene Application
- New Healthy Habits
- New Household Healthy Habits
MODULE 7 – COMMUNICATION SKILLS
- Plan for Improving Communication
- 5 Steps of Conflict Resolution
- Conflict with Children
- Discuss Improvements
Sustained Living
MODULE 8 – SOCIETAL PROBLEMS 1
- Review Human Trafficking
- Review Victims of Human Trafficking
- Story of Migration
- Review Migrant Worker Rights
- Review Internet Safety
- Talked with Community Leaders about External Threats
MODULE 9 – SOCIETAL PROBLEMS 2
- Review Domestic Violence
- Domestic Violence Intervention Tips
- Review Drug Training
- Resources for Addiction
- Review Gambling Training
- Review the Family Budget
2. FREEDOM FOR FAMILIES
In addition to partnering with Thai families, Step Ahead provides services for refugee and asylum-seeking families in Bangkok.
In January 2019, the Thai government signed an MoU with 7 Government Ministries to end the detention of children. This created a pathway for mothers to be released from immigration detention centers and be reunited with their children. Step Ahead collaborates with Thai government, UNHCR, IOM and NGO service providers to free mothers from immigration detention, advocate for support services that they need to thrive and most importantly, keep families together.
3. FOSTER CARE
Step Ahead partnered with Childline Thailand pioneering the first ever foster care initiative to provide a family-based care alternative for asylum seeker/refugee children detained in Bangkok’s Immigration Detention Center.
Before the Thai Government signed the MoU to end the detention of children, Step Ahead was providing much needed foster care services for children whose mothers were still detained.
We were honored to serve on the government task force to draft the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) needed to implement the MoU. This amazing achievement made it possible for mothers to be released and reunited with their children, which resulted in Step Ahead starting its Freedom for Families program partnering with Liferaft International.
Step Ahead continues to recruit families to provide homes for asylum seeker/refugee unaccompanied minors (UAM) that have no family. In addition to providing foster care for UAMs, Step Ahead has expanded its foster care program to include recruiting families who can provide care for refugee children due to abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Foster families are trained and equipped to meet the needs of these children.
Step Ahead was invited to join the task force drafting the Thai Government Foster Care Policy, which is presently being rolled out in 20 provinces with the goal of all 77 provinces starting foster care programs. We continue to draft the Foster Care Standards of Care and look forward to its completion in 2021.
Interested in providing a home or learning about how you can get involved in any other way?
Learn more about our foster care training
CAPACITY BUILDING
Capacity building is key to building, improving and retaining the skills, knowledge, and tools needed to see all children in Thailand growing up in safe and nurturing families.
It begins with competent, informed staff that are committed to lifelong learning. When we know better, we do better.
Step Ahead serves families as equal partners listening and learning from them to improve our services and programs. We also build their capacity through training, mentoring, and coaching.
We believe a strong social service workforce in government and civil society is needed to protect children and keep them in families. We deliver training to develop core skills and capacity in caring for orphans, children and their families living in under-resourced communities.
“Change is the end result of all true learning.”
Leo Buscaglia
OUR LEARNING PARTNERS
Step Ahead is grateful to the organizations below that have generously shared their knowledge with us so we could grow and develop. Your friendship and support have inspired and challenged us to do better. Thank you!
ADVOCACY
Advocacy seeks to ensure that people, particularly those who are most vulnerable in society, are able to have their voice heard on issues that are important to them and have their views and wishes genuinely considered when decisions are being made about their lives.
At Step Ahead, we advocate for all the families receiving our services to learn how to access their rights and more importantly, help them strengthen their voice to advocate for themselves.
Step Ahead is also committed to legislative advocacy. We know that good laws and just policies will ensure our vision to see all children grow up in safe and nurturing families across Thailand. We do this through engaging and educating the Thai government to influence the introduction, enactment, or modification of legislation.
We have built strong relationships with key policymakers and have worked with the government in seeing the end of refugee children in detention, continue to serve on the government task force drafting foster care legislation and also on the newly formed Alternative Care Systems Development Working Group.
“Justice is what love looks like in public.”
Cornel West
COLLABORATION
At Step Ahead we believe collaboration and partnership are critical to see our vision become reality. We are intentional about bringing people together in a structured way to achieve social change through collective impact initiatives.
BETTER TOGETHER
We are active members of these networks:
Alternative Care Thailand
Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons
Strong Families Alliance Thailand
Families First Alliance
Collaboration Creates Collective Impact
Typically, these initiatives have five conditions that together produce true alignment and lead to powerful results:
Click on the header to see the definition.
It Starts with a Common Agenda
It Establishes Shared Measurement
It Fosters Mutually Reinforcing Activities
It Encourages Continuous Communication
It Has a Strong Backbone
We have seen how collective impact grows as we collaborate with these groups:
Alternative Care Thailand (ACT)
Strong Families Alliance Thailand (SFAT)
Step Ahead is an active founding member of Strong Families Alliance Thailand (SFAT). SFAT is a Christian alliance with the same vision to see children growing up in family-based care. SFAT trains local churches on caring for orphans, vulnerable children and their families. We train them on how to use our Keeping Families Together Curriculum Toolkit, the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, foster care and adoption.
Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons (CRSP)
Step Ahead is an active member of the Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons (CRSP), which is a joint effort of civil society organizations particularly local NGOs, academics, and lawyers with the objective of protection and promotion of the rights for urban refugees and stateless persons.
Families First Alliance (FFA)
Step Ahead is an active founding member of Families First Alliance. This learning community is comprised of organizations across Thailand delivering family strengthening, family support and family preservation services. Its focus is to provide a space and a structure for practitioners to be inspired and learn from each other.