Status children evacuated abroad will be returned to Ukraine to family forms of upbringing
With the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, thousands of children who were left without parental care found themselves outside their country. Military actions, destruction of housing, threats to life forced the evacuation of vulnerable categories of children, including orphans and children who were in boarding schools or other institutions. In the conditions of the war, the state faced an extremely important task — to ensure the return of these children to Ukraine, where they could find family comfort and care. However, the key issue was how to ensure their not only safety, but also the restoration of family ties and integration into new families. After long consultations, the government of Ukraine adopted changes to the legislation that radically change the approach to this issue.
The government adopted changes that provide that the return of status children from abroad must take place in family forms of education (adoption, guardianship/care, foster families, family-type children’s homes) and foster families. About this reported head of the State Service of Ukraine for Children, Petro Dobromylskyi.
According to the new changes adopted by the government, orphans and children deprived of parental care, who are abroad, must return to Ukraine to family forms of upbringing. This is an important step aimed at providing these children with constant and stable family support, which is vital for their emotional and psychological well-being. We are talking about such forms as adoption, guardianship, foster families, family-type children’s homes, as well as foster families, which are becoming an alternative to boarding schools and other state institutions.
As the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Children’s Affairs Petro Dobromylskyi reported, the government took into account an important aspect — the wishes of the children themselves. From now on, children have the right to independently apply for an initiative regarding their return to Ukraine. This innovation helps increase their level of independence and ensures respect for their rights and wishes. It is important that every child, even in the difficult conditions of war, should feel supported and have the right to make their own choices.
“Family comfort, love and warmth are what every child deserves. This is especially needed by orphans, children deprived of parental care, and children in difficult life circumstances. Currently, 2,155 such children are outside Ukraine. They were forcibly evacuated as part of 24-hour stay abroad institutions after the start of a full-scale invasion.” – said the head of the department.
In addition, Dobromylsky emphasized that the return of children is not limited to physical evacuation. The team of the State Service for Children, together with regional military administrations, actively works to ensure that each child not only returns to Ukraine, but also finds a family. This includes finding adoptive parents, foster families and other forms of family upbringing that can provide children with the love, care and stability that they have been deprived of because of the war.
The decision to return children to family forms of upbringing also meets international standards for the protection of children’s rights. It takes into account the need to ensure that every child has the opportunity to grow up in the family, and not in institutions. From a psychological point of view, it helps children to adapt to new living conditions faster, regain a sense of security and avoid deep emotional traumas that can occur as a result of a long stay in institutions.
In difficult times of war, it is family support that can become the support that will help children overcome difficulties and start a new life with confidence in the future.
