Social Work and Social Policy in Croatia in Times of Continuous Reforms and Crisis

In this chapter, we present a broader overview of institutional and policy changes in Croatian social policy and social work practice, from the beginning of the 1990s onwards. By examining policy reforms after the 1990s and their outcomes, the Croatian welfare model can be best described as ‘hybrid’, combining the legacy of Bismarckian tradition in social insurance schemes, the communist legacy containing elements of universalism, and more nuanced processes of privatisation and individualisation. Special focus is put on the social care system and related policy, institutional and discursive changes, as being of the greatest importance for the social work profession. Today, Croatian social policy faces challenges of adequacy and sustainability, relatively low efficiency in social inclusion and work integration programmes, and inadequacy to answer to new social risks. The social care system in particular has become complex and fragmented, and faced with multiple crises.