August the 28th, 2022 - Sponsored holidays in various locations along the Adriatic coast for Croatian kids without parents or guardians outside of the social care system has become the norm every summer, and summer 2022 is no different.

As Morski writes, the long, scorching summer holidays means time dedicated solely to socialising and playing without worrying about school and homework, and Croatian kids without adequate parental care who are in the care of the state, the social care system and similar institutions also spent their summer days going on various trips, activities, holidays, and in some cases - spending some time with their extended family.

According to the relevant ministry, there are a total of 899 Croatian kids without adequate parental care or guardianship being taken care of by the state and by other service providers, who have been granted the right to accommodation or organised housing with additional comprehensive support.

Various sponsors - private individuals, camps, associations, who, by donating accommodation and transportation, enabled Croatian kids in the care of the state to enjoy holidays all over the Adriatic coast again this year, and they're responsible for making these children's summer holidays as beautiful as possible.

The Zagreb Children's Home currently cares for about two hundred children and young people up to 21 years of age. Most of them are very young.

''Summer holidays for Croatian kids without parental care are organised every year,'' the director of the Zagreb Children's Home, Jasna Curkovic Kelava, explained, adding that children under the age of three don't have an organised summer holiday of this sort because they are too young. For those kids who are slightly older, between the ages of three and seven, the aforementioned institution organised as many as five sponsored trips to the coast this year.

Thanks to one generous sponsor, the children and their educators spent the whole of the month of June in his house on the island of Pag.

In mid-June, a group of fifteen children and three of their caregivers stayed in a hotel in Tucepi thanks to the sponsorship of a family that has been doing this for more than 20 years. This past week, the children also went on a seven-day holiday to another sponsor family's house on Pag, which has also been a tradition for several years.

Completely sponsored trips have even been organised for some to go camping in the Czech Republic, enjoying scout camps and the like.

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June 8, 2022 - The City of Zagreb and the Croatian Alzheimer's Association have published a brochure "Expanding Social Services in the Community to Help People with Dementia" to encourage dementia awareness and community services, in which many authors have contributed.

The brochure was published within the EU Project "All for Memory (SPAM)" funded by the European Social Fund in the financial period 2014, which seeks to support people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia by providing new social services in Zagreb, by establishing an afternoon residence for people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, as well as members of their families, reports tportal.hr.

"The efforts of experts to sensitize the public to the needs of people with dementia and their families and to provide them with services in the place of residence do not stop because it is understood that only cooperation and joint efforts can achieve the goals set in the Project," said Deputy Head of the City Office for social protection, health, veterans and persons with disabilities and project manager Mirela Šentija Knežević.

According to estimates, more than 17,000 people with Alzheimer's disease live in the City of Zagreb and are cared for by about 50,000 people, mostly family members.

The project is designed to integrate social services into the health care system, and an afternoon daycare center for people with AB and other dementias will be established in the Zagreb area, as well as accommodation services and a mobile team.

The director of the Institute of Public Health, Branko Kolarić, emphasized the importance of education for formal and informal carers and the importance of communication with people with dementia in nursing homes, about which the Institute conducts education.

Care for people with dementia often exceeds the physical and mental capacity of informal carers, such as family members, and they need the support and advice of professionals on how to care for a sick person, adjust behavior, space, and the like.  

Tomislav Huić, Executive Vice President of the Croatian Alzheimer's Association, pointed out that the changes in the last five years have been great. 

"We have two reference centers in Zagreb, the development of new services and progress are visible. This brochure is important because it shows the direction of public policies in which the development of public services will continue," he said. 

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ZAGREB, 17 Oct, 2021 - The first national study on access to social services shows that members of different vulnerable groups in Croatia do not have equal chances of obtaining quality social services, with inequalities being greater at regional and local levels.

The study was conducted by the Stress and Trauma Rehabilitation Centre and the Zagreb Law School Social Work Study Centre in the period from March to May 2021 and it covered 395 cities and municipalities.

Data was collected from two sources - representatives of local government units and representatives of providers of social services in local communities (431 local professionals).

The study covered access to social services for various vulnerable groups: children and young people at risk, families at risk, poor citizens, persons with physical and mental disabilities, elderly and infirm people, and members of ethnic minorities and refugees.

The study confirms unequal access to social services and lack of access to individual services. Its findings reveal poor availability of social services for young people, families at risk, persons with physical and mental disabilities, members of ethnic minorities and refugees.

More available are social services for children, poor citizens and elderly people but it could not be concluded for most of these services either that they are generally available.

Significant regional and development-related inequalities were identified as well, with citizens who live in smaller, rural areas under the national development average having less access to social services on which their health, wellbeing and social inclusion depend.

Social services least available in Pannonian Croatia

Social services were the least available to people in Pannonian Croatia, which covers local government units with the lowest development index.

Experts believe that it is necessary to invest in the development of risk-prevention services and services that facilitate social inclusion, activation on the labour market and psychosocial empowerment once risks emerge, for all groups of users. They consider as less necessary services related to the provision of accommodation in their communities, the exception being accommodation for elderly and infirm persons.

The study was financed by the Active Citizenship Fund in Croatia, through financial mechanisms of the European Economic Area and the Kingdom of Norway.

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