Family comfort instead of boarding schools: how to arrange guardianship or care for a child in Ukraine

In Ukraine, more than 45,000 orphans and children deprived of parental care have found their new home in the families of guardians and custodians. Three out of four such children live in such families, which emphasizes the importance of family education as the most widespread form of support. This indicator shows the high readiness of Ukrainian families to provide children with warmth, care and stability, which they have lost due to circumstances. Usually, the closest relatives or acquaintances of the child become guardians, which allows children to maintain a connection with their native environment and culture. The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine emphasizes the importance of such forms of education and provides all kinds of support for their development, especially in times of war, when the number of children in need of care increases.

Custody and guardianship are the two main forms of family education that provide the opportunity for children deprived of parental care to live in a family environment. The difference between these concepts lies in the age of the children over whom responsibility is established: guardianship refers to children up to 14 years of age, while care – from 14 to 18 years. It is important to note that guardianship is not the same as adoption. Adoption means that the child becomes part of the family on a permanent basis, with full rights, like biological children.

If a child is left without parental care, relatives or acquaintances can immediately take him or her to their family using the mechanism of temporary placement. This makes it possible to provide the child with the necessary support and care immediately, without waiting for the official registration of the status of an orphan or deprived of parental care. After that, the status of the child can be officially registered and guardianship or guardianship can be established.

The process of registering guardianship or guardianship requires several steps, from submitting an application to the Children’s Services (SSD) to a final decision by the local authorities or the court. Under martial law, to simplify the process for relatives, the procedure was simplified by allowing them to submit the necessary documents through the Diya electronic portal.

The guardianship registration algorithm includes the following stages:

1. The candidate submits an application and documents to the Children’s Service (SSD) or on the “Diya” portal. Application processing takes up to 5 working days.
2. The SSD checks the living conditions and prepares an inspection report within 5 working days.
3. The SSD issues a referral to study (relatives can go through it if they wish).
4. The candidate is undergoing training at the regional Social Services Center.
5. The Center for Social Services issues a certificate of completion of training within 5 working days.
6. The SSD registers the candidate and prepares a conclusion on the possibility of establishing guardianship.
7. The district state administration, the executive body of the city, district in the city, village, settlement council or the court makes a decision within a month after submitting all documents.
8. If the child is in institutional care, he or she is returned to the guardian’s family within 15 days of the decision.

The necessary documents for registration of guardianship include:

— a copy of the passport; — a copy of the registration number of the taxpayer’s registration card (RNOKPP); — a copy of a marriage certificate or an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts; — a copy of a document with a unique record number in the Unified State Demographic Register, if it exists; — certificate of salary for the last 6 months or declaration of income of an individual entrepreneur for the previous calendar year; — a document confirming the right of ownership or use of housing; — a conclusion on the state of health of the candidate and his/her husband/wife (military personnel can undergo a medical examination after returning from the front); — certificates from a narcologist and a psychiatrist for all persons living with the candidate (military personnel can undergo a medical examination after returning from the front); — an extract on the presence or absence of a criminal record of the candidate and his/her spouse; — written consent of the husband/wife, notarized; — written consent of all adults living with the candidate (notarized or written in the presence of the SSD).

In wartime, the procedure was simplified for the child’s relatives. Thus, during martial law, a relative or godfather/mother, who baptized the child before he was left without parents, submits the following documents together with the application:

— a copy of the passport; — documents confirming family ties with the child; — a certificate from a narcologist and a psychiatrist; — a certificate on the presence/absence of a criminal record (if it cannot be obtained, a statement on the absence of criminal liability must be submitted, and the certificate must be provided within a month after the end of martial law).

Filing an application for guardianship or guardianship through “Diya” includes the following stages:

1. Get a conclusion on the state of health and certificates of a psychiatrist and narcologist in advance.
2. Log in on the Diya website.
3. Go to the section “Services” – “Family” – “Guardianship: registration as a candidate”.
4. Enter your residential address.
5. Specify data about the husband/wife, specify his/her e-mail.
6. Enter data about the child for whom guardianship is registered.
7. Wait until the data is pulled from the registers (15−20 min), continue.
8. Enter data on everyone who lives with the candidate.
9. If necessary, add scanned copies of their documents.
10. Download a health report, certificates from a psychiatrist and a narcologist.
11. Sign the application with an electronic signature and send it (the husband/wife also signs the application using the link that will be sent to the specified mail).
12. Wait for a call from SSD.

Also, parents who have adopted children can apply for assistance through “Diya”, which greatly simplifies the process and allows you to focus on raising a child.

This mechanism is an important step towards ensuring proper care for children who find themselves in difficult life circumstances and supporting families who are ready to take responsibility for their upbringing.