Social service providers are angry
We would like to respond and complement the Novinky.cz article .
It is not the non-profits that are angry, but the non-state providers of social services. Who are they? Social services whose
work is purchased by the state to care for its citizens, whether they are, for example, children with special needs,
serious illnesses, victims of the attack on the FFUC or other crimes, the elderly, or many others.
The Senior Helpline is a social service that provides crisis telephone intervention to seniors and persons in crisis.
Why doesn't the state provide this assistance directly? Because it would have to employ the 60,000 people who provide this service and it will cost less through purchasing these services from social service providers.
And how does the state purchase these services? It does it through state subsidies. A registered social service applies for a grant, quantifies to the crown (and the client) exactly what service it will do for the state. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs evaluates the applications and proposes the final amount of support. Specifically, the services for three hundred thousand citizens of the Czech Republic.
Why are social service providers "angry"?
Although they have been providing services to their clients in full since 1 January 2024, the providers did not know until 22 March how much money they would receive for this year 2024. To provide services starting in January, they must, of course, pay staff, rent, utilities and more. Surprisingly, the number of people who depend on social services support in the Czech Republic has not decreased compared to last year. This is regardless of the fact that costs are rising year on year - everyone has felt the rising cost of food and energy.
In previous years, the grant process for the following year was announced in the fall, and by the end of the year providers knew how much money they would receive for the next year. They got it in March, which is the usual practice that the Ministry is touting.
Imagine you order a room to be painted, the painter paints it in January and you tell him when you leave that you will pay him in March. And in March you send him 20% less than what he priced the painting at in January. And imagine the painter is surprisingly angry...