Czech Republic has no plan for transition from institutional to community based care, Czech NGOs warn today in an open letter addressed to national and European authorities.
Main concerns include:
- There are 16 000 persons with disabilities in Czech institutional care establishments. And around 8 000 children in institutional care.
- Persons with disabilities living in the community do not have required support from community based services; they don´t have enough money to cover support essential to independent living.
- Existing institutions are being developed and rebuild (in the name of so called “humanization”). Even using money from EU funds.
- There is no strategy for transition from institutional to community based care in the Czech Republic, even though it is one of ex ante conditionalities for ESIF.
- There is a threat Czech Republic will avoid ex ante conditionalities and ESIF money will be again used to develop and rebuild institutional care (in the name of so called “humanization”).