Institutional care reorganisation
The purpose of the Action Plan on the Transition from Institutional Care to Family and Community Services to Disabled Persons and Children Without Parental Care is to identify consistent and coordinated actions promoting the development of a system of the transition from institutional social care to family and community services for disabled adults with mental and/or psychic disabilities, children and youth with mental and/or psychic disabilities, children without parental care including infants, and families as well as support for families and guardians/carers (hereinafter referred to as the ‘reorganisation’) in the period 2014-2020.
The strategic goal of the action plan is to develop a system of an integrated provision of services which would enable every child and every disabled person, or his/her family, guardians or carers to receive individual services tailored to their needs and the requisite community support, and which would allow every child without parental care to grow in a safe environment conducive to the child‘s development – either in a biological family or, in the absence of such family, the family of foster parents or guardians.
Objective 1: Ensure a harmonious environment and conditions for every child including disabled children to live in his/her biological family, and for a child without parental care – to live in the family of guardians or foster parents or in a social family and to receive community support.
Objective 2: Enable the disabled adults and their families/guardians/carers to receive individual community services meeting their needs.
Objective 3: Promote changes in the values of society by forming a positive attitude toward the reorganisation of the system and ensure publicity of the processes.
The reorganisation of the institutional care system is coordinated by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour. Participants in the implementation of the reorganisation include the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Healthcare, the State Child‘s Rights Protection and Adoption Agency under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, the Department for the Affairs of Disabled Persons under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, the Lithuanian Municipalities Association, the Social Services Supervision Department under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and municipalities.
The reorganisation of the institutional care system is co-financed by the European Union’s funds and the state budget.
In order to ensure the maximum efficiency of the institutional care reorganisation process, on 23 March 2015 a memorandum of cooperation was signed by Algimanta Pabedinskienė, Minister of Social Security and Labour, Minister of Education and Science, Minister of Health, Minister of the Interior, President of the Lithuanian Municipalities Association, and Chairman of the Council of Nongovernmental Organisations.
The reorganisation of the institutional care system includes all the 10 regions of Lithuania. It is vitally important that during the reorganisation infants and children under 3 years of age are no longer placed in institutional care, therefore, all the 5 infants care homes currently operating in the country will be reorganised.
In order to implement the Action Plan on the Transition from Institutional Care to Family and Community Services to Disabled Persons and Children Without Parental Care for 2014–2020 approved by Order of the Minister of Social Security and Labour No A1-83 of 14 February 2014, the State Child‘s Rights Protection and Adoption Agency under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour prepared a proposal for the implementation of a state project and is currently drafting a project application. Project partner: Department for the Affairs of Disabled Persons under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour.
The purpose of the project under the title ’Enabling a sustainable transition from institutional care to a system of services provided in families and communities of Lithuania’ is to create conditions necessary for the establishment and development of an efficient system of transition from institutional care to family and community services in Lithuania.
Tasks of the project:
1. Developing a methodological basis for the community services of new forms to be provided to children, disabled persons and their families/guardians/carers, meeting individual needs of the service recipients, and increasing access to existing social services.
2. Carrying out an evaluation of individual needs of residents of care institutions included in pilot projects and an assessment of competences and motivation of the institutions’ staff.
3. Improving professional competences of staff responsible for the administration and provision of social services to children, disabled persons and their families/guardians/carers.
4. Ensuring inter-institutional, inter-departmental and inter-sectoral collaboration in the reorganisation of the institutional care system, in particular in the areas of the development of new community services to children, disabled persons and their families/guardians/carers and the ensuring of the integrated provision of social services and in the preparation of plans on the reorganised institutions, community services and service infrastructure.
5. Promoting guardianship/care and adoption of children by individuals, social families and non-governmental organisations and/or the provision of social services to children without parental care, children at risk and disabled persons as well as voluntary work in these areas; changing the values prevailing in society and local communities with respect to the reorganisation of institutional care; ensuring publicity of the reorganisation processes and visibility of the project and its outputs.
6. Assuring quality of the outputs of the institutional care reorganisation and analysing the monitoring and assessments.
Last updated: 17-01-2024