Development of family forms of raising children in Ukraine: results and modern realities
The war brought numerous tragedies to Ukraine, among which the fate of children who were left without parental care is particularly important. Adoption, the development of family forms of upbringing and patronage became the basis of state policy regarding children who experienced the loss of their homes, evacuation, deportation or other horrors of war. In these difficult times, providing every child with the opportunity to grow up in a family environment is not only a humanitarian task, but also an investment in the future of the country.
How the Strategy for Ensuring Children’s Right to Family Education is implemented
At the end of 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Strategy for Ensuring Children’s Right to Family Education until 2028. The document takes into account the realities of wartime and is aimed at reforming the childcare system. Its main goal is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to be brought up in a family, regardless of the complexity of life circumstances.
The reform includes several key directions: supporting families in difficult circumstances, providing orphaned children with family forms of upbringing, as well as creating conditions for the return of children who were deported or evacuated. Special attention is paid to children with disabilities, who suffer the most in closed institutions.
To speed up the reform process, the Coordination Center for the Development of Family Education and the “Ukraine for Every Child” platform were created. The platform has become an important tool for those who want to adopt a child, but do not know how to do it. All the necessary information is collected here, training courses are provided, adoption readiness testing is conducted, and legal and psychologist consultations are also available.
Head of the expert group of the Coordination Center Olena Remen told, that most people stop because of fear of the complexity of the process. Some postpone the decision, hoping for “better times”. However, the reality is that help is needed now. For this purpose, the “Ukraine for Every Child” platform has become the tool that helps remove barriers and move from intentions to real actions.
The state also provided financial support for families who receive children. Payments for orphans and assistance to adoptive parents allow to ensure the basic needs of the child, but do not solve all problems. In some communities, local authorities also help arrange housing, organize access to medical and educational services, and provide leisure time for children.
Adoption problems
However, the reform also faces problems. The process of preparing candidates for adoptive parents sometimes takes a lot of time due to the lack of specialists. Also, adoptive parents often work without weekends and vacations, which leads to exhaustion. Experts insist on implementing a mechanism to help such families, for example, through the service of a family assistant who could help with household organization or childcare.
Forms of support for families in communities can differ significantly, because they depend both on the needs of a specific family and on the resources available to the community. This support includes not only financial assistance, but also the provision of housing, the purchase of furniture, household appliances, clothes, shoes, toys and other things that the child may need for a comfortable life. At the same time, professional services play an important role: psychological help, legal advice, or medical support. The effectiveness of such work directly depends on whether there is a sufficient number of social work specialists in the community, as well as on how well the implementation of local programs and strategies for the development of family forms of education is organized.
In order for families to be more willing to accept children for education, communities must create conditions that will guarantee children safety, comfort and the opportunity to develop. People are ready to accept a child into the family when they are sure that they will be able to meet all their needs. In such communities, services aimed at supporting families with children are being developed: accessible kindergartens, extended day groups, organization of meals and transport to school, extracurricular education, medical assistance and rehabilitation services. In particular, the organization of interesting and safe leisure for children is also an important element of creating conditions for successful family upbringing.
Popularization of family forms of upbringing, adoption and patronage can solve a number of social problems in the regions. It is extremely important to ensure that every child has the opportunity to live in a family where he is cared for, supported and helped to prepare for an independent life. Children raised in a family environment are more likely to become socially active and independent citizens. They get an education, master a profession, create their own families and become useful to society.
Foster families provide temporary care for children who find themselves in difficult life circumstances. In such families, children stay for up to three months, and in some cases this term can be extended up to six months. Foster care provides an opportunity to preserve the family for the child or to prepare it for a longer placement in a family form of upbringing.
The demographics of foster families depend on many factors. For example, families without children or with only one child are more likely to opt for adoption. Foster families and family-type children’s homes often create large families that have experience in raising their own children. Most often, children are taken under the care of their relatives: grandparents, aunts or uncles. Also, the number of children a family is willing to adopt affects the choice of form: adoption usually involves one child, while foster families can accept up to four children, and family-type orphanages – up to ten.
The development of family forms of education needs further changes. Currently, the candidate training system is limited to only regional centers of social services, which creates delays in the process. It is important to expand the list of organizations that can conduct training. In addition, foster parents often experience emotional exhaustion due to the lack of days off or vacations. At the legislative level, it should be provided for the possibility of hiring helpers for such families, who will help with child care and household organization. All these changes are aimed at ensuring that each child finds a family that can provide warmth, support and opportunities for development.
Another serious problem is the placement of children with disabilities. Most of such children continue to remain in institutions due to the lack of specialized families ready to raise them. Accordingly, the reform provides for the training of foster parents to work with children who have special needs and the expansion of financial support programs for such families.
Despite all the difficulties, the reform of the childcare system shows positive dynamics. More and more Ukrainian families decide to adopt a child, realizing that even one step can change their whole life. Adoption, foster care and family forms of upbringing have become not just an alternative to institutions, but also a new standard of child care.
Dynamics of adoption
Regarding the development of alternative forms of education in Ukraine, in 2024, a noticeable positive trend was recorded in the regions. In particular, the Dnipropetrovsk and Chernivtsi regions, which are actively participating in the implementation of the child care reform, are showing significant progress.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, which is a leader in creating family forms of education, during the first ten months of 2024, 96 orphans and children deprived of parental care were adopted, including children evacuated from abroad. For comparison, 73 children were adopted in 2023, and 68 in 2022. This indicates a stable increase in the number of families ready to accept children into their family.
In addition, 692 orphans and children deprived of parental care were taken into care and custody. For comparison, there were 918 such children in 2023, and 734 in 2022. The system of foster families and family-type children’s homes is actively developing in this region. During 2024, 36 foster families and 11 family-type children’s homes were created, in which 206 children were accommodated. In previous years, these indicators also showed growth: in 2023, 25 foster families and 11 homes were created, and in 2022 – 17 families and 12 homes.
The development of patronage forms of education deserves special attention. In 2024, five foster families were created, which took 15 children in difficult life circumstances under their temporary care. Today, there are 302 foster families in the region, in which 595 children are raised, as well as 184 family-type orphanages, where 1279 children live. Another 28 families sponsor 77 children who need immediate support. Dnipropetrovsk became a pioneer in the creation of these forms of education and continues to maintain leadership.
In the Chernivtsi region, which is also actively implementing the reform, there are 988 children who were left without parental care. Of them, 717 are brought up in the families of guardians or custodians. In 2024, guardianship over 39 children was established here.
By the end of 2024, there are 14 family-type children’s homes in the region, where 105 children are raised, and 54 foster families, where 111 children live. During the year, 31 children were adopted. There are also 11 families of foster carers in the region, where 16 children who needed immediate protection are temporarily accommodated.
These indicators testify to the gradual but sure integration of family forms of upbringing in Ukraine. Children get a chance to live in an environment that is as close as possible to a family environment. Thanks to this system, not only physical care is provided, but also the creation of conditions for their development and preparation for independent life.
