PROVISION OF SOCIAL SERVICES ON THE PLATFORM OF INTER-MUNICIPAL COOPERATION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC: CASE STUDY
Keywords:
Social services, inter-municipal cooperation, voluntary association of municipalities, case study, integrated careAbstract
The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the potential of inter-municipal cooperation for the provision of social services. It seeks to answer whether inter-municipal cooperation is an appropriate form of social service provision and whether the concept of integrated care is an appropriate framework for social service provision. A qualitative research strategy is employed. It is dominated by a case study, which in part underpins the findings and opinions presented in this paper. The object of the case study research is an organization providing social services and health services in the Czech Republic in their interconnection and continuity. The analyses and findings of this paper follow the case study. In the Czech Republic, 19.1% of the total number of registered social services are provided directly by municipal contributory organizations established by them. The share of resources decided by municipalities in their independent competence from those not under direct decision-making by central authorities is 31.7%. The legal conditions for inter-municipal cooperation in the Czech Republic allow for the delegation of elements of municipal autonomy to municipal associations. The results presented in this paper show that inter-municipal cooperation is a possible and appropriate form of social service provision and that linking social services provided on the platform of inter-municipal cooperation and the concept of integrated care, specifically in the model of Integrated Community Care, is mutually beneficial and productive.
References
1. Act No. 108/2006 Coll., on Social Services.
2. Act No. 128/2000 Coll., on Municipalities (Municipal Structure) [original wording], 2000.
3. Act No. 128/2000 Coll., on Municipalities (Municipal Structure) [current wording], 2024.
4. Act No. 129/2000 Coll., on Regions (Regional Structure).
5. AMELUNG, V., STEIN, V., GOODWIN, N., BALICER, R., NOLTE E., SUTER, E. (Eds.). (2017). Handbook Integrated Care. Springer Nature Springer International Publishing AG, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-56103-5. ISBN978-3-030-69261-2.
6. ARMITAGE, G. D., SUTER, E., OELKE, N. D., ADAIR, C. E. (2009). Health systems integration: state of the evidence. In: International Journal of Integrated Care. Jun 17;9: e82. DOI: 10.5334/ijic.316. PMID: 19590762; PMCID: PMC2707589.
7. CHRASTINA, J. (2019). Případová studie – metoda kvalitativní výzkumné strategie a designování výzkumu: Case Study – a Method of Qualitative Research Strategy and Research Design. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, ISBN 978-80-244-5373-6. DOI: 10.5507/pdf.19.24453736.
8. GOODWIN, N. (2016) Understanding Integrated Care. 2016. In: International Journal of Integrated Care, 16(4): 6, pp. 1–4, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ijic.2530. PMID: 28316546; PMCID: PMC5354214.
9. HENDL, J. (2005). Kvalitativní výzkum: základní teorie, metody a aplikace. Praha: Portál, ISBN: 978-80-7367-485-4.
10. LEUTZ, W. N. (1999). Five laws for integrating medical and social services: lessons from the United States and the United Kingdom. In: Milbank Quarterly 77(1), 77–110. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.1111/1468-0009.00125. PMID: 10197028; PMCID: PMC2751110.
11. MAREŠ, J. (2015). Tvorba případových studií pro výzkumné účely. In: Pedagogika, 65(2), s. 113–142. ISSN 0031-3815.
12. MONTERO, L. A., VAN DUIJN, S., ZONNEVELD, N., MINKMAN, M., NIES, H. (2016). Integrated Social Services in Europe. Brighton: European Social Network. ISBN: 978-0-9934556-2-9.
13. MPSV. (2019). Analýza financování sociálních služeb. Praha. Ministersvo práce a sociálních věcí České republiky. 94 s.
14. OECD. (2015). Integrating Social Services for Vulnerable Groups: Bridging Sectors for Better Service Delivery. Paris: OECD Publishing, ISBN 978-92-64-23376-8 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-23377-5 (PDF).
15. THIAM, Yacine, ALLAIRE, Jean-François, MORIN Paul, HYPPOLITE, Shelley-Rose, DORÉ, Ch., ZOMAHOUN, H. T. V., GARON, S. (2021). A conceptual framework for integrated community care. In: International Journal of Integrated Care. 21(1): 5, 1–13. DOI: 10.5334/ijic.5555. PMID: 33613137; PMCID: PMC7880006.
16. THOMAS, G. (2011). A typology for the case study in social science following a review of definition, discourse, and structure. In: Qualitative Inquiry, 17(6), pp. 511–521. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800411409884.
17. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION. (2013). Roadmap Strengthening people-centred health systems in the WHO European Region. A framework for Action towards Coordinated/Integrated Health Services Delivery (CIHSD). Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, Switzerland. COI: 20.500.12592/1g3m24.
18. YIN, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: design and methods (Sixth edition). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications. ISBN: 1506336183, 9781506336183.
