ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the characteristics of the legal framework, existing structures and mandates of child welfare and child protection services and system resources in Serbia. It addresses the answers to the following questions: What is the nature and scope of the contemporary national child welfare and protection system in Serbia? Which child welfare system components exist and how do they function, both normatively and in practice? Can there be talk of the child welfare system in Serbia as a specific sum of distinctive but inter twined 'policies, procedures, legal and institutional arrangements necessary to advance the welfare of children and young people, and safeguard them from harm'? What are the strengths, gaps and priorities for future systems development in Serbia? What are the implications of the findings on the system's development? The contemporary child welfare system in Serbia cannot be considered separately from the process of European integrations, which significantly affects both the content and the dynamics of changes.
