Country Profile: Slovenia
Population: 2.1 Million
Children under the age of 18: 300,000
Country situation:
Slovenia is located in Central Europe and has historically been at the crossroads of Slavic, Germanic, and Romance languages and cultures. In June 1991, Slovenia became the first republic to split from Yugoslavia and become an independent sovereign state.
There is no institutional care for children and adolescents deprived of a normal family life. Children of all ages as well as adolescents who are unable to live in their birth family are placed in family care, mostly in foster families. Within the framework of institutional care, there are social welfare training institutes in Slovenia that provide institutional care for children and adolescents with moderate to severe or severe intellectual disabilities. At the same time, there is also the possibility of placing children and adolescents in educational institutions. There are several such homes in the country. In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, children enjoy special protection and care. The state provides protection to children whenever their healthy development is endangered and when other benefits for children require it. The Family Code provides for special forms of childcare, such as foster care, adoption, granting parental care to a relative, and custody of minors. In all these cases, the courts have jurisdiction to decide. Most children who do not live in their birth families are placed in foster families. According to the data in October 2020, there are 833 children in foster families, 659 children under the age of 18 and 174 persons between the ages of 18 and 26. The number of foster parents is 615, of which 94 do it as a profession with at least 3 children under their care.
Towards a Slovenia Without Orphans:
Currently, there is a great shortage of foster families in Slovenia. Some people visit evangelical churches (there are about 45 of them) in order to inform the members about the opportunity to serve God and people through foster care and adoption. WWO Europe would love to connect with like-minded people to start a Slovenia without Orphans Network. Please do get in touch through WWO Europe.
Contact: europe@worldwithoutorphans.org