The “Parent Contact” is entirely focused on providing psychological support and information to families of children born with facial anomalies. It is based on the hard work of a network of trained volunteers throughout the country which based on their own experience as parents raising these children understand the problems and fears of the new parents and provide them the necessary information on issues related to treatment and development of their children.

Contact Parents are selected based on their motivation to participate in the network as well as on the results from the training course and the evaluation by a psychologist. They work together with a multidisciplinary team specialized in the treatment of facial anomalies. This contributes to the complex approach in overcoming the initial stress at birth and positively affects the decision that the child should not be abandoned.

The “Parent Contact” is an innovative practice in providing non-medical support for families of children with facial anomalies developed successfully in leading European countries (England, Scotland, Wales). The involvement of parents and volunteers as an additional element of the provided care, helps to improve the overall psycho-emotional state of the family, gives them confidence to deal with the problems. Sharing personal experience is extremely valuable in addressing everyday issues associated with the condition.

The project is worth 51 621.08BGN and is implemented with the financial support of the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme, “Reform Fund Linked to Civil Society Participation”. The project started in September 2013 and it is for a period of 2 years. It will include volunteer parents from all over the country.