Supreme Audit Office criticizes slow progress of foster care

After 16 years and significant funding, the Czech government has made limited progress in overhauling its child welfare system, the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) revealed. Despite a gradual rise in foster care, the number of children in institutional care dropped only slightly, from 8,434 in 2015 to 7,341 in 2023. Foster care numbers increased from 10,923 to 12,973 the same period, but NKÚ criticized inefficiencies in funding and the lack of a unified child welfare system. The Ministry of Labor disputes the findings, claiming modernization efforts and rising foster care applications reflect ongoing improvements.