INSTITUTIONAL CARE SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION: TRENDS AND PERSPECTIVES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILD CARE INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

This article analyses the transformation of the social childcare system in Lithuania, which aims at eliminating institutional childcare homes by the year 2020 and the placement of parental care for children in families of adoptive parents and carers, and returning them to biological parents. However, during the transition period, patronage impairment is noticeable, and municipalities choose an intermediate option and place children in community homes that provide short-term or long-term social care. It provides social services to a social care institution, in which the community in a separate room (house, apartment) family-friendly environment model houses up to 8 children in the home environment. When providing social services to parental care, it is necessary to understand the importance of deinstitutionalisation in the system of social services and to model their activities towards the home environment, bearing in mind that the process of deinstitutionalisation involves a change in the formation of a permanent custody, the services that best suit the individual interests of each child, taking into account their needs for growth and improve. This can only be achieved by improving the human resources capabilities of social service organizations by providing the right knowledge to provide tailor-made services based on results-oriented work principles.Applied research methods are analysis of scientific literature and documents, interviews with social workers of a community nursing home, analysis and interpretation of research results. The review of scientific literature and research data presented in the article reveal the problems of the institutional care transformation process and the challenges of transforming the children's care homes and developing the activities of community child care homes.