Emergence of youth homelessness as a result of ineffective discharge from institutional child care in Eastern and Central Europe: the case of Czech Republic

Emergence of youth homelessness as a result of ineffective discharge from institutional child care in Eastern and Central Europe: the case of Czech Republic
Ilja Hradecký, NADĚJE
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe: key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic

OVERVIEW
Historical background
Present situation
Care structure and related problems
Numbers and structure of institutionalized children
Leaving the institution – finding living quarters
Consequences of institutionalized care
Summary
Outlook

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
1887 protective isolation: sweat shops or reform schools
1931 youth centers for 14-18 age group
1952 institutionalized care for children and youth aged 0-18, first homes for infants
1969 SOS Children’s Villages – NGO
1991 foster care introduced as an alternative to institutions

PRESENT SITUATION
Responsibility for protecting at-risk children is shared by everyone who comes into contact with them
Courts and municipal governments have the most power to make decisions
Current system is very complicated and difficult to navigate, with five ministries charged with various aspects
Little or no coordination of activities

DECISION-MAKERS: THE MINISTRIES
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
Ministry of Health
Ministry of the Interior

OTHER DECISION-MAKERS (1)
Courts
Are the only ones with the power to limit parental rights and responsibilities
Commence proceedings on appointing legal guardian
Can order, extend and/or terminate institutionalization
Lead times are too long; courts are overloaded
Problem: red tape

OTHER DECISION-MAKERS (2)
Protection of children – social and legal aspects
Municipal government
Regional government
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
Office for International Legal Protection of Children
Other legal entities and private individuals

STRUCTURE OF INSTITUTIONAL CARE
Infant care institute: for children from birth to age of 3
Children’s home: for children aged 3-18 that have been placed in the institution
Children’s home with school: for children aged 6-18 that have been placed in the institution
Diagnostic institute: for school-aged children that have been placed in the institution
Juvenile training institute: children over the age of 15 with court- ordered institutional or protective care
Social services: handicapped children
SOS Children’s Villages – on the borderline between an institution and a foster family

PROBLEMS
Typically the child is not placed under the care of any one, specific care-giver
Care-givers change frequently
Impossible to form a permanent emotional relationship
Not only care-givers change, but children are frequently transferred from one institution to another
Insufficient social opportunities
 “institutional dependence” syndrome
 problems with integration into society

CHILDREN IN INSTITUTIONS (1)
Approximately 20,000 children in institutions
580,000 in incomplete families
4,086 boys,
2,855 girls, of which 43 are teenage mothers
Out of each 10,000 children in the general population, 100 are institutionalized
41 orphans,  0.6 %
On the other hand, nearly 5 % are runaways

Children without parents or guardians (e.g., orphans)
Children from acutely dysfunctional environments,
At-risk children,
Children who already have experience with criminal activity

Average term of child’s stay:
In Children’s Homes: 14.5 years,
In Children’s Homes with schools: 2.4 years on average (some children up to 17 years),
In training institutes: 1.3 years, ranging from 1 month up to 13 years

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON
Institutionalized children as percentage of overall child population
(i.e. per 100,000 population aged 0-17 years)
(Source: UNICEF)
1989
1990
2006
Czech Rep.
682,3
704,4
1 313,3
Hungary
537,1
488,4
388,6
Poland
554,0
572,7
725,7
Slovakia
559,7
536,8
665,2
Bulgaria
-
1 281,4
657,0
Romania
-
724,5
625,4
Ukraine
224,9
220,6
499,5

INSTITUTIONS FOR INFANTS
At year-end 2012: 1,397 children
Over one quarter had been living in the institute for over one year
1,932 children institutionalized in 2012
Down 199 children from 2011
(Source: Ministry of Health)

LEAVING THE INSTITUTION
Return to original family
Some refuse to return to original family
Rent an apartment (very rare)
Public boarding houses are more frequent
Residential social services
Finding employment poses a similar problem

CONSEQUENCES
In 1995–2004 a total of 17,454 children left institutional care.
Of these, a total of 9,751 children (i.e. 56%) committed crimes.
Only 3,209 children (18%) committed crimes before and during institutionalization.
8,866 children (51%) committed crimes only after leaving institutional care. Of these, 1,681 children (i.e. approximately 10%) did so within one year.
(Source: Ministry of the Interior)

SUMMARY (1)
A large number of children in the Czech Republic are in institutional care.
The most common reasons for institutionalization are economic, social, and behavioral.
A large number of children remain in institutional care long-term, until reaching adulthood.
There is no State-guaranteed system of social prevention services
Protective and institutional care are not separate in practice.
Runaways from institutions is a long-term problem that has not received the attention it deserves.

SUMMARY (2)
When the young people leave the home, they enter an unknown environment
Often they are naive about intrapersonal relationships; the relationships they do form are superficial and need-based,
They are gullible and can easily fall prey to tricksters,
In most cases they are not capable of managing their money properly,
The starting money they receive is not enough for them to afford the living standard they were used to in the institution
Often they are not capable of social integration without complications
Children from institutions are 16 times more likely to have a psychiatric diagnosis, eight times more likely to be on psychiatric medicines, and 56% of them engage in criminal activity

OUTLOOK
New Civil Code
Amendment of the Act on Social and Legal Protection of Children
Amendment of the Act on Institutional and Protective Child Care in Educational Institutions
Changes in the foster care area
Rights of care-givers and persons listed in the child’s records
Duties of care-givers
Increased remuneration of foster parents
Welfare payments for children leaving foster care upon reaching adulthood
Amount of contribution for covering the child’s basic needs

CHANGE PROCESS
Changes in the system of social and legal protection of children, including the courts
Creation of a network of services for working with families
Development of substitute family care, professionalization of foster care
Transformation of residential institutions
Unification (remits, financing, methodologies, information system)

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Emergence of youth homelessness as a result of ineffective discharge from institutional child care in Eastern and Central Europe: the case of Czech Republic

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Emergence of youth homelessness as a result of ineffective discharge from institutional child care in Eastern and Central Europe: the case of Czech Republic