The End of Infant Homes in the Czech Republic?

Authors

  • Mirka Wildmannová Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University, Brno

Keywords:

Substitute family care, professional foster parent, family assistant, social expenditures

Abstract

Representatives of international organizations defending the rights of children often criticize the Czech Republic for the high number of minors placed into institutional care (i.e. infant homes and children’s homes). The trend throughout Europe in recent years is actually the placement of children in substitute family care. This trend could lead to the vacancy and subsequent dissolution of institutional care facilities.

This paper compares the economic positions of two care models, i.e. the costs of institutional care and foster care (professional families). According to various experts in the field of child psychology and psychiatry, substitute family care is more beneficial to children than institutional care; for this reason, the demand for phasing out activities of infant and children’s homes has been expressed clearly.

The paper contributes to the economic perspective of this discussion. One argument has been whether the dissolution of infant and children’s homes may also lead to decreases in government spending.

References

BUBLEOVÃ, VÄ›dÄ›na et al. Mezinárodní srovnání přístupů a forem realizace pÄ›stounské péÄe se zÅ™etelem k využití profesionálních pÄ›stounů pÅ™i Å™eÅ¡ení situace ohroženého dítÄ›te a reintegrace rodiny /A comparison of international foster care approaches and forms of implementation in the use of professional foster parents in solving the issues of endangered children and family reintegration/ [online]. 2002. Available from: http://okna-nrp.cz/wpcontent/uploads/ Bubleova_Kovarik_Mezinar_srov_pestoun_pece.pdf.

BRANDTNEROVÃ, I. , Trendy v náhradní rodinné péÄi, /Trends in substitute family care/, ESF MU, diploma thesis, 86 pp, 2013.

Právo na dětství /The right to childhood/[online]. 2011 [quotation date: 2013-09-15]. Available from: http://www.mpsv.cz/files/clanky/13085/NS_ochrany_deti.pdf

10 mýtů o rušení kojeneckých ústavů /Ten Myths about the Dissolution of Infant Homes/. In: Amalthea [Online]. 2012 [quotation date: 2013-09-30]. Available from: http://www.amalthea.pardubice.cz/tiskove_zpravy/2012/famy-o-ruseni-ustavu.pdf

Rodina a náhradní rodinná péÄe /Family and Substitute Family Care/. Zrcadlo.blogspot.com [online]. 2008 [quotation date: 30/09/2013]. Available from: http://zrcadlo.blogspot.cz/2009/07/konference-rodina-nahradni-rodinna-pece.html

SANTOSOVÃ, Silvie. Nové trendy v náhradní rodinné péÄi /New trends in substitute family care/[online]. 2010 [quotation date: 2013-10-09]. Available from: http://theses.cz/id/pr2duo/84031-830458180.pdf. Diploma thesis. Palacký University, Olomouc.

Statistická roÄenka z oblasti práce a sociálních vÄ›cí /The statistical yearbook on labour and social affairs/[online]. 2012. Available from: http://www.mpsv.cz/files/clanky/13613/rocenka_2011.pdf

SouÄasný systém sociálnÄ›-právní ochrany dÄ›tí v ÄŒeské republice /The current system of the social and legal protection of children in the Czech Republic/. StÅ™edisko náhradní rodinné péÄe /The centre for substitute family care/[online]. 2012 [quotation date: 2013-09-30]. Available from: http://www.nahradnirodina.cz/soucasny_system_socialne_pravni_ochrany_deti_v_ceske_republice

Statistika poÄtu dÄ›tí umístÄ›ných v náhradní rodinné péÄi. /Statistics on the number of children placed in substitute family care/. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports [online]. 2012 [quotation date: 2013-10-05]. Available from: http://www.msmt.cz/socialni-programy/statistika-poctu-deti-umistenych-v-zarizenich-ochranne-a

Systém náhradní rodinné péÄe /The system of substitute family care/. StÅ™edisko náhradní rodinné péÄe /The centre for substitute family care/[online]. 2013. Available from: http://www.nahradnirodina.cz/nahradni_rodinna_peceI.html

VýroÄní zpráva pro Å¡kolní rok 2011/2012 DD LORETA ve Fulneku /The annual report for the 2011-2012 school year, LORETA Children’s Home in Fulnek/. 2012.

VýroÄní zpráva pro Å¡kolní rok 2011/2012 DD Litoměřice. /The annual report for the 2011-2012 school year, Litoměřice Children’s Home/. 2012.

VýroÄní zpráva pro Å¡kolní rok 2011/2012 Kojenecký ústav a DD Svitavy /The annual report for the 2011-2012 school year, Svitavy Infant Home and Children’s Home/. 2012.

Zákon Ä. 117/1995 Sb., o státní sociální podpoÅ™e ve znÄ›ní pozdÄ›jších pÅ™edpisů /Act No. 117/1995 Coll., on state social support, as amended/. In: Texty zákonů /Texts of acts/. 2012.

Downloads

Published

2014-10-15

How to Cite

Wildmannová, M. (2014). The End of Infant Homes in the Czech Republic?. Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies, 2(5). Retrieved from https://www.ajouronline.com/index.php/AJHSS/article/view/1626

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 5 (2014): October 2014

Section

Articles

License

  • Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
  • It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
  • The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
  • The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
  • The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.