A grant program is launched in Ukraine to support families raising children with disabilities and developmental disorders

The war in Ukraine brought the most suffering to those least able to protect themselves – children. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, thousands of Ukrainian children have lost their homes, their parents, or were forced to flee the war with their families. But this war has become especially difficult for children with disabilities and their families. For many of them, even in peacetime, full-fledged social support was unavailable or insufficient, and during the war, such families found themselves in a situation of double vulnerability – they struggle not only to survive during the war, but also face daily challenges imposed by the child’s health.

New state grant program

In conditions of constant threat, shelling and displacement, families with children with disabilities and developmental disorders remain practically defenseless. They need not only humanitarian aid or financial support, but also the creation of long-term safe conditions for the upbringing and development of their children. The issue of access to inclusive educational programs, medical services and a simple physical space where a child can feel safe is particularly acute. The new state grant program launched by Ukraine with the support of international partners is aimed at supporting such families. Its main goal is to help families raising children with disabilities, as well as to support the creation of family-type children’s homes (FBST) in the regions most affected by the war.

As reported head of the parliamentary committee on the organization of state power Olena Shulyak, the grant program is implemented jointly with the Ministry of Social Policy, the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) within the international SPIRIT project. The total budget of the program exceeds 6 million dollars, and the size of one grant is 60 thousand dollars.

Financial support will be aimed at developing a system of social services for families with children with disabilities. Territorial communities and organizations that provide social services will be able to receive grants. The program will cover 11 regions of Ukraine: Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Chernivtsi regions and the city of Kyiv.

Where will the funds go?

The funds received will be directed to several important areas:

— organization of day care centers for children with disabilities and developmental disorders, where parents can leave the child under the supervision of specialists for at least a few hours;

— accompanying children during their studies in inclusive classes and educational institutions;

— creation of a system of temporary respite for parents and guardians — the opportunity to leave the child under supervision and get time to solve their own affairs or rest;

— social support of families in difficult life circumstances, when parents are left alone with problems and do not know who to turn to for help;

— provision of housing for orphans and young people aged 16 to 23, who have been left without parental care and are on the apartment registry.

Subventions for the purchase of housing for families creating family-type children’s homes will be a separate direction of the program. According to the plan, already in 2025, more than 120 such families will get their own housing. A special emphasis will be placed on supporting families who planned to create a DBST, but did not have time to do so due to the war, as well as those who were forced to leave their homes and are now returning from evacuation.

Priority in the selection will be given to families who found themselves in the most difficult life circumstances due to the war, as well as new family-type children’s homes created in 2025.

“Supporting such initiatives is not just about helping individual families or children. This is an important part of the great process of restoring Ukraine, strengthening the capacity of our communities and strengthening the entire system of social protection.” – stressed Olena Shulyak.

She emphasized that this project is aimed not only at improving the lives of individual families, but also at systematic work on the development of social services in Ukrainian communities. After all, in the conditions of war, it is extremely important to prevent the destruction of that part of the state that takes care of the people who need the most attention and help.

Thanks to this project, Ukrainian children with disabilities and their families will have a chance not only to survive during the war, but also to live with dignity, have access to quality services, develop and build a future at home, in Ukraine.