Klaus signs bill reducing number of children in institutional care

Prague, Oct 1 (CTK) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus yesterday signed an amended bill aimed to reduce the number of children with behavioural disorders in institutions and enhance out-patient care for problem families, his spokesman Radim Ochvat told CTK.

The bill gives parents a chance to apply for their child's admission to institutions for problematic kids for another five years.

The government originally wanted parents to be scrapped of this chance as from September 2012. It also wanted to restrict the length of a child's stay in the institution to eight years. However, the parliament decided to preserve the present practice because of the children with mental disorders who cannot be completely examined in two months.

In view of the present trend towards preferring small facilities, the law reduces the maximal number of groups of a family type in children's homes to four in one home instead of the previous six. One group is to comprise eight children at the most.

Inmates can stay in children's homes on the basis of a special agreement after they reach the age of 18, if they continue studying and have nowhere else to live.

The new law also reckons with specialists more often visiting problematic families to solve problems of children's upbringing so that the children need not end up in institutions at all.

It also extends the network of consulting centres for not only children but also their parents.