Abstract
In professional literature we often encounter the statement that a child can be placed in a children's home on the basis of social difficulties of the family. However, representatives of educational institutions for the performance of institutional education do not agree with this position.
The aim of this paper is to present the results of a research which has been devoted to the real causes of the ordering of institutional education. Using a mixed research design, we found that the primary reason for ordering institutional education is not the family's social difficulties.
However, we noted frequent comorbidity of social and social pathological factors. The findings of the research presented here may significantly change the way we view the issue of institutional education, and in particular point to a significant need for prevention and interdisciplinary collaboration.