RIYADH: Family assessments that focus on Saudi children’s needs and well-being will be improved following an agreement between the Council for Family Affairs and the National Center for Assessment (Qiyas).
Prince Faisal Abdullah Al-Mishari, CEO of Qiyas, and Halah bint Mazeed Altuwaijri, secretary-general at the Council for Family Affairs, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to share information and cooperate in the field of comprehensive family assessment, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development said on Sunday.
Commenting on the agreement, Altuwaijri said: “The MoU is very important for the center because it provides a set of assessments that help to develop society and the family, including family readiness assessment, positive development assessment and others that help achieve the goals of the council.
“The council plans to lay out strategic plans for women, children and elderly people, and provide social protection for all family members. The Qiyas center helps decision makers to use its multiple assessment tools as a practical method to cater for development needs,” she said.
The Qiyas assessments also provide statistics to improve decision making and strengthen council initiatives.
Comprehensive family assessments help decision making by identifying and considering factors that affect children, youth and their families, offering a greater understanding of how a family’s strengths, needs and resources affect a child’s safety and well-being.
Several factors, including children’s safety, risk of future maltreatment, parental protective capacity and well-being, must be assessed and discussed together with the family.
The signing of the MoU and the development of the family is part of the Kingdom’s Saudi Vision 2030.
“Our real wealth lies in our people and our society,” the Vision 2030 document said. “We intend to embed positive moral beliefs in our children’s character from an early age by reshaping our academic and educational system.
“Schools working with families will reinforce the fabric of society by providing students with compassion, knowledge and behavior necessary for resilient and independent characters to emerge.”
Welcoming the partnership, Rabea Joudi, a legal consultant on family matters in Riyadh, told Arab News: “The two agencies coming together to work on comprehensive family assessment — guided by principles of family-centered, culturally competent practice — is a step toward an improved child welfare system.”