The focus of the study is on the current difficulties and challenges that social care institutions face in their daily operations, how they can respond to them within their internal resources, mechanisms and capacities, and what concrete, tangible needs and demands emerge in terms of possible directions, forms and interventions for external professional support and development. The findings provide the basis for developing a map of general and specific problems. The empirical study for these analytical purposes is based on a database of online questionnaires completed by a group of experts in social care institutions in two counties (Győr-Moson-Sopron and Veszprém) in November and December 2022. 201 analysable personal questionnaires are included in the sample, representing 166 social care service sites in the study area. Three main problems stand out in terms of their importance among the factors analysed. The main problem of the social care system is the complex challenge of low wages. Administrative burdens rank second in the rating of operational difficulties, and the third key factor is the psycho-mental condition of the workforce.