Serbian disability homes operate without licenses, adequate staff, DRI finds

State-run homes for adults and the elderly with disabilities in Serbia are operating with significant deficiencies, according to a report by the State Audit Institution (DRI).

Auditors found that many of these facilities lack essential licenses to operate, despite submitting applications years ago. The report highlights that a substantial percentage of homes for adults and the elderly, specifically 81.2% of those catering to individuals with mental, intellectual, physical, or sensory disabilities, are functioning without the required permits.

Further irregularities include exceeding the maximum allowed number of residents, improper appointment of directors, and a shortage of qualified professional staff, many of whom also lack necessary licenses. The DRI also noted a lack of oversight regarding the quality of services provided.

A particularly concerning finding is the failure of most homes to provide or maintain accurate records of "pocket money" for residents, which is intended for their personal needs. This suggests a broader neglect in managing the personal finances and well-being of vulnerable individuals within these state-run institutions.

“

Users can be accommodated in a home that does not have a license to provide services, which has a larger number of users than allowed, whose director has not been appointed in the prescribed manner, in which an insufficient number of professional workers and associates work, often without a license, in which the quality of the provided service is not checked, records of how the money intended for the personal needs of users is spent are not kept, and certainly there will be no inspection supervision over the work of the home, unless an incident occurs in the institution.