The Role of Local Self-Management in the Realization of the System of Social Care of Children

Local self-management, in its contemporary meaning, arose in the time modern state was created, at the transition from feudalism into capitalism. In the nineteenth and twentieth century, local self-management, in Europe above all, became a part of the uniform system of state government which had the following characteristics: the existence of proper territories, organizational independence of local institutions, the existence of certain financial and normative independence and the rights of citizens to freely choose in it a representative body or to directly decide on important matters of interest for the local community. The development of local self-management in our country has its roots as early as the Turkish rule, in the existence of principalities, at the end of the eighteenth century. In modern times, by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia from 1990, a single-level local self-management was established and within it special decisions for cities. The district is the basic unit of local self-management in Serbia which has two kinds of jurisdiction: self-management or authentic and transferred or decentralized. The system of social care of children, by which certain goals of social and population policy of the state are achieved, recognizes two kinds of affairs which local self-management can carry out: authentic and entrusted. Authentic affairs refer to the institutions for children - preschool institutions and children’s recreation centers over which local self-management has all foundation rights. Entrusted affairs of local self-management are making decisions, in the first degree, on the rights of citizens which has the characteristic of rights of general interest. In the carrying out of its authentic and entrusted affairs and authorities, local self-management takes into consideration, through the Law on social care of children and sublaw acts, the regulated norms and standards for carrying out the activities of children’s institutions and realizing the rights of citizens. Apart from authentic and entrusted affairs, local self-management has the right, according to the Law on social care of children, to determine other rights as well in the system of social care of children, a greater scope of rights and more favorable terms for realization of rights, as well as other forms of social care of children, if it provides the funds. However, this supposition can hardly be realized, due to insufficiency of funds as well as adequate organization and competent expert work.