Mikasa Autism Care Home in Ostrava Faces Closure Over Funding Shortfall

The residential facility Domov Mikasa in Ostrava, which provides long‑term care for adults with autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour, will likely shut down in September. The closure is driven by a chronic financing gap of about 3.5 million Czech crowns, despite support from the city and the Moravian‑Silesian Region, which together with client contributions fall short of the needed budget.

Director Michal Panáček said the hardest part is informing parents that the service may cease, warning that without the home many clients could be transferred to psychiatric institutions. The home is the only one in the region offering such specialised residential care. The administration rejected a regional recommendation to scale back services based on available funds, insisting that reducing support would push the most vulnerable people out of the system.

Families fear that the loss of the stable environment will leave their adult children with nowhere to go, highlighting the broader challenge of financing intensive social services for high‑need individuals.