In my master's thesis, I discuss the process of deinstitutionalization in connection with the lives of persons with intellectual disabilities, who are included in the Matevž Langus Training, Work and Care Center in Radovljica. In the theoretical part, attention is first directed to the treatment of persons with intellectual disabilities. In the following, the history of deinstitutionalization processes is discussed, which started with the anti-psychiatric movement and with the realization that it is possible to successfully care for people with special needs in the community and not only in closed and segregated total institutions, which, despite the declared care, they do not guarantee fundamental human rights. I also present the functioning of institutions, especially social welfare institutions, of which CUDV Matevž Langus is also a part. In the theoretical part, I pay attention to user movements and the introduction of personal assistance, which have had a significant impact on the treatment of people with disabilities. For this purpose, I also present the theoretical concepts of deinstitutionalization, which include discourses of incapacity, handicap, medical and social models of treatment, normalization and inclusive discourses. In the empirical part, with the help of semi-structured interviews, which were conducted with the director, members of the expert group, employees of the departments and heads of residential units, I want to find out what is the understanding of the concept of deinstitutionalization, how they tackled the process itself in the institution, how they see the work of expert group and what challenges they face in doing so. On the basis of the findings, I try to present the views and attitudes of employees towards deinstitutionalization, the implementation of the process over time, and focus on the work of the expert group, which formulated guidelines for all programs implemented by the institution for the purpose of deinstitutionalization. I am interested in how their work started, how they created the guidelines, what they perceived as a shortcoming, an advantage and a challenge in their work. I was also interested in whether they paid attention to the evaluation of the implementation of the guidelines and to what extent the guidelines are intended for users who need more care and assistance. Through the conversation with the employees of the center and the managers of the residential units, I learned how they experience deinstitutionalization, where they see possible additional possibilities, where the lives of users could be further improved, how they perceive the work of the professional group and, most importantly, how they view and evaluate the presence of institutional culture, despite efforts to deinstitutionalize users' lives.
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