Croatia

Background

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This map does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers.

As its democratic institutions have matured, Croatia has become a candidate for high membership in the European Union. Because Croatia is a middle-income nation with a stable market economy, the support of Croatian donors and business partners has been vital to achieving results for the nation’s 990,000 children.

Issues facing children in Croatia

• Many children are placed in institutions, where they grow up deprived of the nurturing, support and guidance that a family setting could provide.

• Unemployment rates are exceptionally high for young people under age 24. 

• The issues of physical violence and verbal abuse at school have received

Activities and results for children

• The Croatian Government has created a network of community-based Family Centres to provide education and counselling for parents.

• Recent media coverage has focused national attention on the need for a strong response to child abuse, neglect and abandonment. 

• A six-year National Plan of Action for Children has been drafted, with input and support from UNICEF. 

• Participation in UNICEF’s ‘Violence-Free Schools’ project has expanded to 216 schools, where teachers, counsellors, students and the local community are trained to implement a UNICEF model that significantly decreases bullying and abuse. To date, 110 schools have been certified as ‘violence free.’

• Zagreb’s major school of social work is now training professionals to practice effective early interventions with dysfunctional families.

• A recent, hugely successful advocacy campaign called ‘Every Child Needs a Family’ employed billboards, TV talk shows, radio commercials, concerts and celebrity appearances to stimulate discussion about the damaging effects of institutional care on children. Tremendous public support was generated for creating a new foster-care system. Hundreds of potential new foster families offered to care for young children in need.