The Fund for Endangered Children (FOD) operates fourteen facilities for children requiring immediate assistance in the Czech Republic, known as Klokánek. According to the fund's chairwoman, Hanka Kupková, their total capacity is about 260 places.[1][2]
Operation of the Klokánek facilities
The Klokánek facilities take in children from birth to the age of 18, and children typically stay there for seven to nine months on average. According to Kupková, at the time of her statement there were 232 children in the facilities. Children under the age of four may stay at a Klokánek for a maximum of two months unless they have an older sibling there. For children up to 18 years of age, the recommended length of stay is six months. Kupková considers the two-month limit unsatisfactory and would like children to be able to stay longer if there is no other alternative.[1][2]
According to Kupková, the FOD employs about 120 caregivers, with 16 positions currently unfilled. Due to the shortage of caregivers, some apartments in the Klokánek facilities are closed—eight in total, representing 32 places. She says recruitment is made more difficult by, among other things, low wages, which amount to about 25,000 crowns gross per month. Half of the organization's budget comes from a state contribution, with additional funds coming from regional authorities and donors. Kupková believes the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic should set up better financing for such facilities, and that the entire system of social and legal protection of children is failing.[1][2]
Klokánek in Prague 8
In October 2026, the Prague 8 municipal district handed over a renovated house to the fund, to which the Prague Klokánek facility is to move from premises in a school building that had become unsuitable. The facility will operate in two houses owned by the municipal district, together providing space for 20 children. Capacity will increase by one apartment, i.e. four places. Each apartment is to house a maximum of four children along with one caregiver at all times. Prague 8 deputy mayor Radomír Nepil (ANO) said the renovation of the handed-over house took about a year and cost around eight million crowns. This house contains three apartments, while the second house will have two, and is expected to be handed over by the end of 2026.[1][2]
Chronologie
- — In Prague 8, the municipal district handed over a renovated house to the Fund for Endangered Children for its Klokánek facility, which will move into two houses with about twenty places, increasing capacity by four places. Pražský deník Pražská Drbna