Working with Street-Connected Children: A Training Model for Street Work Practice

Summary

This paper presents a four-staged training model (the STEP Model) which underpins a rights and child-centred approach to working with street-connected children and acts as a basis for change and improvement in the quality of their lives. The model moves through a sequence from planning to reconnaissance, to contact and development of practice. It has been informed primarily by training developed by StreetInvest (a London based charity), the subsequent evaluation of their training in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and literature on street work practice. Much has been written about street-connected children but much less about those who work with them on the streets. This model is intended to add to the broader discourse and practice surrounding street work and street-connected children globally.