The Social Welfare Act, which entered into force in October 2022, has centralized the provision of social welfare in Croatia.
According to Article 317 of the Social Welfare Act, the Centres for Social Welfare ceased to operate on 31 December 2022, becoming regional organizational units as county services on 1 January 2023. Their coordination was taken over by the Institute for Social Work, operating under the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy.
The activities of the Institute for Social Work are set out in the Social Welfare Act. The central organizational unit of the Institute is set up to perform analytical, legal, economic, administrative, and other tasks. The regional organizational units of the Institute are organized as county offices and regional offices. Beneficiaries continue to receive services from the social welfare system in the regional organizational units, according to their place of residence.
Some of the activities of the previous Centres for Social Welfare were also taken over by the Family Centre. Activities include advisory and preventive work, as well as other tasks of the centres for social welfare related to counselling services on marriage, parenting, family and partner relationships, development of communication and tolerance in young people and partner relationships, organizing and conducting education for adoptive parents, encouraging and developing programmes in the community, etc.
For more information (in Croatian) see:
https://www.zakon.hr/z/222/Zakon-o-socijalnoj-skrbi#google_vignette
