Framework issues concerning strengthening the integration of the social assistance and care systems, especially for people with complex needs (Integrated care studio)
The current system of care services for people with complex and long-term needs is highly fragmented, the social and health care services are not inter-connected and the care offered is not coordinated at the individual level (Holmerová et al., 2013; Kalvach et al., 2015; Janečková & Vepřková, 2017; Humphries, 2018). This acts to increase the risk of social exclusion for target groups who need long-term help from multiple types of services. The consequence of the lack of connection between the various services is the overloading of informal care or the worsening of the danger for the target groups, for example due to inappropriate hospitalisation. Modernising trends in the social and health policy spheres in recent decades have focused on solving the effectiveness of care via the integration of systems and the strengthening of inter-organisational cooperation. The objective of integrating care is attained via the implementation of specific work methods, such as case management, and through the development of robust, i.e. formalised inter-agency cooperation and the creation of transparent and integrated financing models.
The main objective of the project is to contribute to the discussion on the requirements of social policy introduced in the period 2023–2025. This concerns, primarily, the provision of input materials for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic for the preparation of legislative amendments (e.g. the amendment of the Social Services and Social – Legal Protection of Children (SPOD) Acts and the preparation of the Professions Act) and for regional and municipal authorities (e.g. innovation projects in the areas of financing, strategic planning, procurement and the professionalisation of social work and the involvement of users in the development of services). A further important objective is to map, analyse and evaluate selected topics concerning the integration of the social assistance and care systems over the long term.
The project has a strong application level in the form of the preparation of documents for government decision-making in the area of the integration of social assistance and care systems, especially for people with complex needs; in addition, the project will contribute to the social impact of this research field.
Outputs
KOCMAN, David, 2024. Implementation of the law on personal assistance in Slovenia. Evidence synthesis. Praha: RILSA. (only in CZE)