Systém sociální péče o ohrožené děti a mládež

Approximately twenty thousand children who grow up in the Czech Republic live without or outside their families. If a child does not have sufficiently safe and suitable conditions for his/her healthy development, which should be provided by his or her own family, the state has the obligation to maintain alternative care for such citizens. Substitute care is provided by substitute family care (also known as foster care) or institutional care. The aim of the article is to analyse the impact of social work practice that deals with children and teenagers. The analysis includes the comparison between two countries – Poland and Denmark which both provide social care in the form of foster care (also for vulnerable children). In recent years, the social care system for vulnerable children has undergone significant reforms and it is still dynamically developing. The transformation of the system in the Czech Republic, which was carried out by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and with other ministries including the Ministry of Interior, made a significant contribution to the development. The analysis of historical development of the foster care system, the phenomenon of neglection and its genesis, mental deprivation of children through neglection are also widely discussed in the work.