Chamber of Deputies votes for legislation that would end infant care centres

The Chamber of Deputies voted in favour of a proposal that sets a minimum age limit for children who are placed into institutional care on Friday, de-facto ending the use of infant care centres (kojenecké ústavy). If the legislation proposal also passes through the upper-house, it will mean that it will not be possible to place children under the age of three into institutional care from January 1, 2025.

The author of the proposal, Deputy Olga Richterová from the Pirate Party, said that the Czech Republic is the last EU state where infant care centres, which she likened to orphanages for children younger than three-years-old, still exist. The aim of the legislation, she says, is to ensure that unwanted children below the age of three are placed into foster families.

The proposal was mainly opposed by Communist Party MPs, some of whom said that infant care centres are sometimes the only place where such children can be placed.

The lower-house also voted in favour of raising state subsidies for foster parents, which will be dependent on the minimum wage and on the number of children they are taking care of.