Assessment
Inclusion of children with disabilities in the context of deinstitutionalisation of substitute care in the Slovak Republic
Throughout Europe children with disabilities remain the least well-served by childcare systems reform. Despite the complexities of measuring disability prevalence and alternative care provision, the percentage of children with disabilities in residential care across the European region is estimated to have increased between 2015-2021. Children with disabilities are from 6 to 30 times more likely to be in formal residential care than children without disabilities.
In Slovakia, children with disabilities are also over-represented among children in residential substitute care. Despite commitments to inclusion and acknowledgement that alternative care for children under six years should be in family-based care, only 4-5% of children with disabilities in substitute care are in family-based care. Around half (50%) of children with disabilities entering residential substitute care every year in the period from 2015 to 2022 were under 3 years old and 67% were under school age.
This assessment of inclusion of children with disabilities in the context of deinstitutionalisation of substitute care in Slovakia is a collaboration between the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic (MLSAF) with UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office in a project carried out with funding by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument (established under Regulation of (EU) 2021/240) and in cooperation with the European Commission.
The assessment paid attention to the analysis of current practices, mechanisms, and gaps in provision for children with disabilities, with a focus on the MLSAF substitute care system in collaboration with allied services.
The assessment contributes to:
- Development and testing of a model of rights-based inclusion of children with disabilities in substitute care through access to services provided via measures implemented by the substitute care system in cooperation with allied services (for implementation in various centres in Slovakia);
- Development of a proposal for a new national framework and an action plan for the transition from the current state of play towards an inclusive model for care and support, with a focus on the best interests of the child.