The aim of the study is to present innovative, family-centred services built on complex methodology and aiming at preventing criminal behaviour. These services were first developed and implemented by professionals of family and child welfare centres located in various settlements in Hungary (Szekszárd, Budapest, Szombathely, Miskolc) and by professionals of a reformatory (Rákospalota). The aim was to develop and conduct a special parental skills development program dedicated to children who might assume a criminal behaviour or are actually engaged in criminal acts and their parents. By complementing or enforcing the lacking or weak competences of the child which can be connected to their committing offences, the risk of re-offending in the case of children engaged in criminal acts, and the risk of committing criminal acts in case of children without such a history can be significantly reduced, respectively proper parental behavioural models can be transmitted towards these children. By measuring parental skills and child resilience in families participating at the model programs, we assessed the efficiency of the programs; furthermore, in order to get a deeper insight of their experiences, we interviewed target group members and involved professionals. In the present study, following a brief overview of the model programs, along the main results of this research, we present the role of child protection innovations in professional work.
Keywords: child welfare and child protection innovations; child resilience; parental skills development.
