Advocacy
Advocating for change in the field of
COMPULSORY FURTHER EDUCATION
Current status
- Social service workers are obliged to undertake 24 hours of further education per year (accredited courses, trainings, professional conferences or internships). For many of them this is an unpleasant obligation, because they do not have enough time to devote systematically to their chosen field of interest.
Our idea of change
- For caregivers who want to increase their education, it would make more sense to extend the time limit to 48 hours in two years. These hours should also be counted if the caregiver is training, writing specialised articles, etc. Caregivers should be able to choose courses from other providences than the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
- Currently, further education and development is dealt with by Act No. 108/2006 Coll. for social workers and social service workers together.
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Our proposed changes in the area of further education should be reflected in the Professional Act, which will be referred to in the amendment to Act No. 108/2006 Coll. on Social Services.
We advocate changes in the area of
QUALIFICATION COURSES FOR SOCIAL SERVICE WORKERS
Current status
- Anyone who has completed basic education and a retraining course of 150 hours, which can be completed up to 18 months after entering practice, can become a professional caregiver or social services worker. Currently, anyone can take care of a person with advanced dementia for a year and a half without any professional training. Such practice is not safe for either the clients or those who take care of them.
Our idea of change
- We want to raise the bar for entry into the caring profession. This would also help to raise the prestige and improve the conditions of the sector. Professional caregivers should have completed the necessary training before entering practice. We support an amendment to the law that would include the obligation to complete 40 hours of education before entering practice and 120 hours of professional education (depending on the target audience) within one year of entering practice.
- Courses are dedicated to working with multiple target groups at the same time, so you only learn a little from each. The courses devote very little space to the topic of self-care. No one prepares a prospective caregiver for how to work with the stresses they will experience in their work.
- We support the inclusion of self-care in training courses so that the caregiver knows what situations can arise in care, how to deal with them and how to protect themselves from burnout.
HELPING US PROMOTE CHANGE
We regularly discuss our proposals with Olga Richterová, Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. We are also supported on our journey by the Government Commissioner for Human Rights, Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková, who has provided us with the patronage of the Jiskříme conference in 2023. Senator Miluše Horská provided us with the patronage of the expert discussions on How to Improve the Conditions of the Care Profession and Personal Support in 2022.
SPECIALISED MATERIALS AND LINKS
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is preparing an amendment to Act No. 108/2006 Coll. on Social Services. It includes a proposal for changes to the qualification course for social services workers.
Also related to our topic is Decree No. 505/2006 Coll., implementing certain provisions of the Act on Social Services.
Under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, preparatory work is again underway from 2022 on the creation of the so-called Professional Act (Act on Social Work and Social Workers) that should, among other things, define the concept of social work, regulate the conditions of eligibility for social workers and also regulate their further training and development.