Abstract
The aim of the study is to analyze the process of de-institutionalization of previously institutionalized care-giving and education in the Czech Republic, as well as to document the influence of ongoing reforms on current practices. The methodology employed includes 1) theoretical analysis of key strategic documents, laws, recommendations and provisions and of their practical impact on the system of institutional care-giving and education; 2) critical reflection of the ideas that have informed the reforms relevant to the subject, grounded in the theories of social pedagogy.
The text strives to portray the process of de-institutionalization in its full complexity, as a transformation from a system of care-giving situated in dedicated housing facilities to a system of services available in the community. Furthermore, the text analyzes the core principle driving this process: the demand to humanize and individualize care-giving, which is related to human rights and their continued incorporation into the field of institutional care-giving; outlines the strategic and economic aspects of the reform; and documents both the individual stages of the reform and the ways in which the system as yet fails to implement truly far-reaching changes.
Two major areas of the de-institutionalization process are given special attention: social services and education in special boarding schools.