ZAGREB, September 21, 2020 - The project "Novi Jelkovec -- a Place of Independent Living" has been launched in Zagreb, it is intended for social inclusion of persons with disabilities, and it is completely financed, with nearly HRK 1.5 million, by the European Union.

"The goal of the project is to contribute to the social inclusion of people with disabilities through the development of new, effective and inclusive social services," it was underscored today at a press conference.

In June 2018, the City of Zagreb submitted the project "Novi Jelkovec -- a Place of Independent Living" to a call from the European Social Fund, and a grant agreement was signed in June 2020 between the City, the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family Affairs and Social Policy and the national employment bureau (HZZ). The duration of the project is 18 months.

The project is being carried out in cooperation with the Mali Dom -- Zagreb daily rehabilitation centre for children and youth, the Rehabilitation Centre Silver, the Rehabilitation Centre Stancic, the Centre for Autism and the OSICE Croatian alliance of associations of children with developmental disabilities, persons with disabilities and their families.

Head of the City Department for Social Protection and Persons with Disabilities Romana Galic said that the project was financed with HRK 1.47 million in non-repayable EU grants, and the aim was to develop social services for persons with disabilities in Novi Jelkovec, a district in the east of the city where many persons with disabilities live.

She underscored that the "Novi Jelkovec -- a Place of Independent Living" project would cover about a hundred persons with disabilities, 50 members of their families and 50 experts that will carry out educational workshops.

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As Novac/Kristina Turcin writes on the 13th of October, 2019, only 13 percent of Croatian employers, or one in eight of them, fulfilled their legal obligation last year and employed a number of people with disabilities, according to the annual report on the work of the Institute for Expertise, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities for 2018.

According to the law on the matter, an employer who is subject to what is known as quota employment of persons with disabilities with twenty or more employees is obliged to employee one person with a proven disability of some sort. As such, at least three percent of the total number of employees working for these employers should be persons with disabilities, employed in a suitable workplace and with the appropriate working conditions.

According to the Croatian Employment Service, last year, there were 9,435 such employers in Croatia: 2,670 operating in the public sector, 6,659 in the private sector, 106 among civil society organisations, and 364 new employers for whom the prescribed 24-month deadline during which they have to fully comply with the law has not yet expired.

Out of a total of 9,435 taxpayers, only 1,266, or 13.41 percent, completely fulfilled this obligation, 14.42 percent fulfilled their obligation partially, and 6,179 or 65.5 percent did not employ any persons with disabilities at all.

Since the law prescribes penalties, or perhaps better to say mandatory fees, that employers who do not meet this particular quota for employment must pay into the state budget, it seems that for two thirds of employers, paying a penalty is a more acceptable option than employing people with disabilities.

Two conclusions can be drawn from this: either the prescribed fine is too low and employers really aren'y bothered about trying to fulfill the obligation to employ persons with disabilities, or for too many of them the “appropriate workplace and appropriate working conditions” they have to prepare for persons with disabilities are far too strictly prescribed.

According to the legal provisions, every Croatian employer who is bound by this law and who did not employ the required number of persons with disabilities is obliged to pay into the state budget thirty percent of what would be minimum wage each month for each person with disabilities who they had to employ, and yet did not.

During 2018 in particular, that compensation amounted to 1031.94 kuna per person. For a larger employer that employs 100 people and is obliged to ensure that at least three people employed there are disabled, the penalty is slightly less than 3,100 kuna per month, which is not much at all for most Croatian employers of that size. A total of just over 216 million kuna was paid into the budget from fines collected on this issue last year alone.

9,435 Croatian employers are subject to so-called quota employment of persons with disabilities (employing more than twnety workers with three percent of those employees needing to be persons with disabilities).

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As SibenikIN writes on the 30th of November, 2018, a project which brings together animals and children in the name of helping kids with varying disabilities, worth a massive million and a half kuna, will seek to help as many as twenty kids with numerous developmental disabilities in Croatia.

This project is not only a praiseworthy but an interesting one because it directly involves working with children with various developmental disabilities, these children tend to do very well once they get involved in athletic activities, and the emphasis this time, is on horses.

''The children will learn how to ride a horse, as well as how to properly groom and care for a horse in preparation for riding. We're proud because the project will go on for three years and we're expecting at least twenty children to be included in it,'' said Suzana Živković of the Kolan riding association.

It has been proven on numerous occasions that therapeutic riding has quite a few effects on the overall health of children and young people.

''Improvements in both the motor and emotional fields are seen in all children. The children are given freedom, they gain self-confidence, their social communication is strengthened, and being around nature is an incentive to a healthy life,'' noted Suzana Živković.

The Kolan riding association was established back in 2012 and currently has 48 members, including both recreational riders and children with various disabilities.

There are currently twelve horses who live permanently on the farm, four of which are ''therapeutic'' horses, and the remaining horses are ridden for recreational purposes. The breeds present at the riding club include Icelandic horses and various types of mixed breeds.

This wonderful project aimed at helping kids with developmental disabilities in Croatia is funded by European Union funds, as well as funds from the Ministry of Family and Demography and it will, as previously mentioned, last for three years, the project's partners are the City of Šibenik and the Šubićevac Education Centre.

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ZAGREB, September 3, 2018 - A project has been launched to certify websites for the blind and visually-impaired users, a press conference heard.

May 30, 2018 — Croatia has backed out of promises which would let the intellectually and psychosocially disabled live independently, according to a scathing Human Rights Watch report.

A nice human and business success story from Bjelovar-Bilogora County.

Disabled persons will soon be able to board ferries and catamarans using special ramps and lifts

A look at everything that has been done over the last four years concerning the accessibility of buildings and areas for people with disabilities.