The Croatian Family Policy in the European Context

U radu se raspravlja o unutarnjim i vanjskim determinantama te razvoju obiteljske politike Hrvatske. U prvom dijelu autori definiraju obiteljsku politiku, analiziraju utjecaj demografskih promjena i zapošljavanja žena na obiteljsku strukturu i odnose. Oni iznose stav da se moderna obiteljska politika treba oslanjati na zapošljavanje obaju roditelja (model dva hranitelja) te da je zbog podrške zaposlenim roditeljima potrebno razvijati usluge obitelji, što znači napustiti klasični pristup u obiteljskoj politici u kojem dominiraju novčana davanja. U drugom dijelu autori analiziraju hrvatsku obiteljsku politiku. Ona je u proteklom desetljeću prošla kroz tri razvojne etape. U prvom razdoblju djelovala je ratnim prilikama prilagođenim mjerama, u drugom razdoblju definirani su ključni dokumenti obiteljske politike kojima se željelo preokrenuti negativne demografske trendove, dok se u trećoj etapi nastoji uspostaviti ravnoteža između realnih mogućnosti i potreba u obiteljskoj politici. U radu se analiziraju i osnovne mjere obiteljske politike: porodni i roditeljski dopusti i naknade, dječji doplatci i porezne olakšice te usluge za obitelj i djecu. Posebno se ističe nerazvijenost usluga jer samo 15% djece u dobi od 1 do 3 godine i 35% djece u dobi od 3 do 7 godina pohađa javno financirane institucije predškolskog odgoja. Buduća se hrvatska obiteljska politika treba temeljiti na dva ključna elementa: većem zapošljavanju žena te uslugama obiteljima, koje su sada slabo razvijene.The paper discusses the internal and external determinants and the development of the family policy of Croatia. In the first part the authors define family policy, analyse the influence of demographic trends and employment of women on the family structure and relations. They claim that a modern family policy should rely on the employment of both parents (the model of two breadwinners) and that family services should be developed in order to provide support for the employed parents. That means that the classic approach in family policy that is dominated by cash benefits should be abandoned. In the second part the authors analyse the Croatian family policy. During the last decade, it has undergone three stages of development. During the first period it was dominated by the measures adjusted to the Homeland war, in the second period the key documents of family policy were defined, attempting to overturn the negative demographic trends, while the third stage attempted to create a balance between real possibilities and needs in family policy. The paper also analyses the basic family policy measures: maternity and parental leaves and benefits, child allowances and tax benefits, family and children services. The insufficient development of the services is particularly emphasised, as there are only 15 % of the children in the age from 1 – 3 and 35 % of the children in the age of 3 – 7 who attend public pre-school education institutions. The Croatian family policy of the future should be based on the two key elements: increased employment of women and more family services, which are currently poorly developed