Udomiteljstvo se definira kao oblik pružanja socijalne usluge smještaja djetetu ili odrasloj osobi, koju pruža udomitelj sa svojom obitelji ili udomitelj koji živi sam, pod određenim uvjetima. U radu je prikazano udomiteljstvo za osobe starije životne dobi kroz teorijsku i istraživačku prizmu te udomiteljstvo u kontekstu procesa deinstitucionalizacije. Svrha je udomiteljstva osiguravanje skrbi i potpore korisniku u poticajnom i pozitivnom obiteljskom okruženju u skladu s njegovim individualnim planom promjene. Iako se posljednjih godina uočava porast broja osoba starije životne dobi smještenih u udomiteljske obitelji u Hrvatskoj, izostalo je zanimanje i kritički osvrt znanstvene zajednice za ovaj oblik skrbi. Stoga je svrha rada opisati udomiteljstvo za osobe starije životne dobi u RH s ciljem unapređenja ovog oblika skrbi.

The paper presents the results of the research on the needs of the older people for services from the social welfare system, which was conducted at social welfare centres. 3001 people from all Croatian regions or counties participated in the research. The research was conducted with the aim of determining the needs for services from the social welfare system, in order to improve the quality of life of the older people. The paper presents the socio-demographic characteristics of the surveyed older people, their marital status, number of household members, support provided by their children, sources of income, property and health status, functional status, rights exercised from the social welfare system and the need for missing services. Respondents feel that they need home help services the most, but there is also a significant interest in institutional accommodation services. There are differences in the needs for care services, depending on how big is the respondent’s place of living. The collected data represent the empirical basis for the social welfare system on the older people, aiming to serve as help in adoption of strategic documents that need to protect this vulnerable population. Key words: the older people, social welfare, needs, services