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https://doi.org/10.3935/rsp.v10i3.109
Social Services in the Reformed System of Social Welfare in Croatia
Ministarstvo rada i socijalne skrbi Republike Hrvatske
Abstract
The idea of radical reform of the whole system of social welfare in Croatia has experienced its full realisation during work on the project “Social Welfare Reform Strategy”, which was headed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare with the financial and technical assitance of the World Bank, the Department for International Development of the Government of UK and the Japanese Government between April 2002 and April 2003. Many foreign and Croatian experts were engaged in the project, their work focusing on five fields: labour policy and employment, social assistance, social services, strengthening poverty monitoring capacity, and fiscal issues and decentralisation. The final reports of all the teams and a concise description of the reformed system of social welfare in Croatia were published as working materials of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare in June 2003. Although within the new system of social welfare numerous and far-reaching changes have been anticipated, in many parts these changes have only been indicated and not elaborated in detail. It has also been planned that an array of recommendations be examined and elaborated in pilot projects in the following years. This means that the implementation of the reform is closely connected with a critical evaluation and application of predicted changes, and such evaluation and application cannot be carried out without the full participation of those working in the social welfare system. The publishing of this document in the journal is thus connected with the wish to further encourage the discussion of proposed changes and induce the changes themselves within the system. Parts of the document from the final report of the social services team dealing with social planning on a local level, a public social work service and the transformation of institutions are published here. The integral document on social services contains in addition an introduction, a chapter on standards and regulation, a conclusion and a number of supplements. Although incomplete, the document published here clearly indicates that social intervention cannot be planned nor carried out without a clear strategy of social planning on the local (as well as other) levels, that the mode of work in social welfare centres has to be reformed in order to provide users of social services with an adequate range of services, and that welfare institutions need to be gradually transformed towards a greater use of alternative welfare resources. The team for social services consisted of Paul Stubbs and John Warwick, hence they are the authors of the section on social services originally written in English, the translation of which was edited and adapted for publication in the journal by Siniša Zrinščak.
Keywords
social welfare system; social services; local social planning; public social work services; transformation of institutions; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
30156
URI
Publication date:
1.3.2003.
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