The Local Government's Approach to the Integration of Foreigners in the Czech Republic.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this article is to analyse the readiness of local governments in the Czech Republic to implement their own integration policies. THEORETICAL BASE: The relevant theoretical concepts are based on migration studies and social policy. METHODS: This present survey is an explanatory multi-case study. The research set consists of five cities. The data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with political and professional representation of cities and experts from NGOs, secondary analysis of strategic and legislative documents. OUTCOMES: The integration policy of local governments is based on the principle of their individual voluntary commitment and is implemented only through time-limited projects. The binding definition of political and administrative responsibilities is a necessary condition to be set by the national government. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: Social departments of local governments are the key institution dealing with the integration of foreigners in a municipality. Social work is therefore an essential profession that helps to design and implement a substantial part of the measures of municipal integration policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]