In 2019, the Family Code began to be applied in the field of adoptions in Slovenia. In my master's thesis, I present the experiences of social workers during the change of legislation. In the conducted case study, I focused on how the change in legislation affected the work of social workers in adoption procedures and what preparations they had. What opportunities the Family Code opened up and what obstacles or dilemmas did social workers face when the new Family Code was applied in the area of adoptions, and what advantages and disadvantages of the change in legislation in the area of adoptions do they highlight. I was also interested in the cooperation between courts and centers for social work and their professionals.
Based on the results, I conclude that the adoption process has not been shortened, despite the shortening of the statutory deadline. Cooperation and communication between courts and centers for social work does not take place. The change in legislation meant an additional burden on social workers. Social workers had few opportunities to participate in the implementation of the Family Code. In practice, social workers see few advantages in the new legislation. The biggest change and advantage was the transfer of decision-making powers from the social work centers to the courts. In practice, it has been shown that judges do not know the profession of social work. Systemically, no preparation or training was organized in connection with the change of legislation. Social workers are subjected to pressure, doubts and mistrust from the judges during court hearings. Social workers actively point out problems. The change in legislation had a negative impact on the already established working relationship between the social worker and their clients. It has been five years since the introduction of the Family Code, and there are still problems, despite the efforts of both social workers and judges to improve practice.
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