About institute
Social Protection Institute of the Republic of Slovenia was established in 1996 with the aim of developing and maintaining a permanent information system and maintain ongoing information support to the Ministry, responsible for social protection, and namely as assistance in developing national policy social protection measures.
Since 2001, the Institute has also covered the field of family and family policy, and since 2004, the field of child and youth welfare. To this end, a Children’s Observatory was established within the Institute at that time, which operated until the Institute’s reorganization in 2022.
In 2010, we began working at the Institute began to deal also with the field of disability protection, soon afterwards with the field of long-term care and in recent years also with the area of deinstitutionalization.
With changes to legislation in the field of personal assistance and the adoption of legislation in the field of social inclusion of persons with disabilities in 2021 and 2022, the Institute was authorized to perform the tasks of an expert body in these areas. The legislation requires the Institute to implement training programs for personal assistants, professional managers, personal assistance coordinators, users, coordinators, members of the professional commission, and to establish the aforementioned expert body. At the same time, the Institute is taking on the task of developing tools for assessing personal assistance needs.
In 2022, the Institute therefore underwent a reorganisation. The Research Department and the Analysis and Development Department – Children’s Observatory have merged into the Research and Project Department, while the Expert Department and the General Affairs Service, which provides administrative and organizational support to the Institute, have been newly established.
At the Institute, we work closely with various ministries. Cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities, which exercises the founder’s rights, is of key importance. After the establishment of the Ministry for a Solidarity Future in 2023, we also established close cooperation with them. Together with both ministries, we draw up the Institute’s work plan for the current year on an annual basis.
In 2025, we established three departments and an organized service:
– Genaral and Administrative Affairs Service
– Social Policy Research and Development Department
– Deinstitutionalization and Long-Term Care Department
– Expert Department
We therefore work closely with the ministries responsible for shaping national policies in the areas of social, family, and disability issues, as well as long-term care and deinstitutionalization. We participate in various domestic and international projects and in various scientific, research, and professional associations and bodies.
Through our activities, we strive to contribute to the development of these areas, while also providing high-quality support to policymakers and legislators in their efforts to ensure the social welfare of the Slovenian population.
The management of the Institute is relatively stable. The first acting director of the Institute was Dr. Srna Mandič, who handed over the management of the Institute to Dr. Mojca Novak shortly after its establishment. Under her leadership, the Institute expanded its activities from social welfare to the area of family and children, and two experts in family policy joined the four existing employees. Dr. Andreja Črnak Meglič took over the management of the Children’s Observatory as an independent unit of the Institute. Later, the Institute was headed by Dr. Milan Ambrož, who consolidated the entire Institute at a single location.
The institute has been headed for many years by Mag. Barbara Kobal Tomc. Under her leadership, the Institute has greatly expanded its activities and currently employs more than 50 people.
