НАЦІОНАЛЬНА СТРАТЕГІЯ реформування системи інституційного догляду та виховання дітей на 2017-2026 роки (Ukraine National Strategy on Reform of the Institutional Care System 2017-2026)
09 Aug 2017
Ukraine
This country page features an interactive, icon-based data dashboard providing a national-level overview of the status of children’s care and care reform efforts (a “Country Care Snapshot”), along with a list of resources and organizations in the country.
demographic_data
44.01 million
Total Population
UNPD, 2018
7.70 million
People
Total Population Under 18
Estimate
17.5%
Population Under 18
UNICEF MICS, 2012
2.5
People
Mean Household Size
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019); DHS, 2007
47.9%
Prevalence of Female-Headed Households
MICS 2012
Lower Middle-Income Country
World Bank GNI Status
World Bank, 2018
1.3%
Living Below Poverty Line
World Bank, 2018
26.1
GINI Coefficient
World Bank, 2018
0.751
Human Development Index
UNDP Human Development Report, 2018
childrens_living_arrangement
%
Country
NO SOURCE GIVEN
72.7%
Living with Both Parents
MICS, 2012
i
*children aged 0-17
22%
Living with One Parent
MICS, 2012
i
*children aged 0-17
2.7%
Living with Neither Parent
MICS, 2012
i
*children aged 0-17
%
Effective
NO SOURCE GIVEN
children_living_without_bio
63%
Both Parents Alive
MICS 2012
19%
One Parent Dead
MICS 2012
19%
Both Parents Dead
MICS 2012
Children living below poverty line
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
i
“A significant proportion of children are living in residential institutions based on written requests from parents who are unable to meet the child's needs because of illness, alcoholism, poverty or unemployment. Such parents consider placement of their children in specialized institutions as the only opportunity to ensure proper care and education.” (Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020)
Children with Disabilities
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
i
The 2020 Alternative NGO report to the UNCRC states that "Instead of introducing regulations that improve the situation of families and contribute to raising the parental capacity, the legislation offers "relief" to parents by placing their children in boarding schools. Thus, the LoU "Fundamentals of the Ukrainian Legislation on Health Care"99 stipulates that for citizens with children facing problems of physical or mental development who require medical, social assistance and special care, the state can provide assistance by keeping children at babies' homes, children's homes, orphanages and other specialized child-care institutions at the expense of the state according to the will of parents or persons who replace them.'"
Left Behind Children (Migration)
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Alternative NGO Report to UNCRC, 2020
i
“In situations where [unaccompanied migrant] children have relatives ready to take care of them (and sometimes capable parents), are defined as ‘left without care,’ [they] are placed to the transit facilities and returned to countries of origin, where these children often do not have any social ties.” (Alternative NGO Report to UNCRC, 2020)
Children experiencing violence
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Alternative NGO Report to UNCRC, 2020
i
“Residential institutions are the most common form of placement of children separated from parents due to poverty, violence, disability, special educational needs of the child, etc.” (Alternative NGO Report to UNCRC, 2020)
Children of Parents Experiencing Illness
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
i
“A significant proportion of children are living in residential institutions based on written requests from parents who are unable to meet the child's needs because of illness, alcoholism, poverty or unemployment. Such parents consider placement of their children in specialized institutions as the only opportunity to ensure proper care and education.” (Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020)
Children of Parents Experiencing Substance Abuse
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
i
“A significant proportion of children are living in residential institutions based on written requests from parents who are unable to meet the child's needs because of illness, alcoholism, poverty or unemployment. Such parents consider placement of their children in specialized institutions as the only opportunity to ensure proper care and education.” (Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020)
Children Lacking Access to Services and Inclusive Education
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Opening Doors for Europe's Children Ukraine Factsheet 2018
i
Over 90% of children in institutions are placed in these facilities "due to such reasons as poverty, social vulnerability of families, lack of services or inclusive education in the community." (Opening Doors for Europe's Children Ukraine Factsheet 2018)
0 Families/Parents
0 Children
NO SOURCE GIVEN
0 Families/Parents
0 Children
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Total Family-Based Alternative Care
- - Families/Parents
13,689 Children
Opening Doors for Europe's Children 2018
Foster Care
- - Foster Families/Foster Parents
13,689 Children
Opening Doors for Europe's Children 2018
Formal Kinship Care
- - Families/Parents
- - Children
i
According to the Opening Doors for Europe's Children 2018 Fact Sheet, "at the beginning of 2018, there were 13,689 children in foster care and 51,101 children in kinship care."
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Total Residential Care
759 Settings
104,000 Children
Opening Doors for Europe's Children 2018
Institutional Care
759 Settings
104,000 Children
i
Out of this total, 38 baby homes held 2,755 children between 0 and 3 years old.
Opening Doors for Europe's Children 2018
92.8%
Children with Both Parents Alive
MICS 2012
4.1%
Children with One Parent Alive
MICS 2012
0.5%
Children with Both Parents Dead
MICS 2012
Country
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Effective
NO SOURCE GIVEN
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Social Welfare Spending
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Alternative Care Policy in Line with the 2009 Guidelines
Limited
Source: Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
i
In their Alternative Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), a collective of Ukrainian NGOs calls on the Government of Ukraine to "bring national legislation in line with the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, in particular with regard to the definitions of 'alternative child care', 'institutional care', 'family-based care', decision-making on child placement, mandatory review of such decisions, and child participation." The report also calls on the government to "bring in line Article 143 (paragraph 3) of the Family Code on the possibility of depriving a child with a disability in a maternity hospital with Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child." Policies include: Cabinet of Ministers’ Resolution on Conditions and Functioning of Guardianship Care Authorities #866; The Law of Ukraine for Ensuring Organizational and Regulatory Conditions for Social Protection of Orphan Children and Children without Parental Care.
Commitment to Deinstitutionalistion
Partly
National Strategy on Reform of Institutional Care System for 2017-2026 and Action Plan
i
The Alternative NGO Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) notes that “the expected results of the Strategy do not match with the resources allocated. It will be therefore difficult to reduce the number of children in residential institutions by 10% starting from 2018.” However “on a positive note, it is worth noting that in 2016, several regulations were amended, which improved the status of orphans and children deprived of parental care, and became an important step in the deinstitutionalization.” A 2020 Call to Action coordinated by Hope and Homes for Children and Lumos further notes that care reform progress "so far has not been comprehensive and has been met with significant challenges that serve to preserve the current institutional system and risk rolling back the overall process of deinstitutionalisation." The Call to Action also states that "Recent high-level political statements and legislative initiatives are creating a ‘backdoor’ through which many children could be placed unnecessarily in institutions, bypassing the gatekeeping mechanisms that were designed to ensure that no child needlessly enters an institution. For instance, on January 16, 2020 a law was approved which allows the creation of pensions for residence, instead of internats, within special boarding schools. And on 21 August 2020 an order was issued, requesting to amend and exclude special boarding schools, education and rehabilitation centres and sanatorium boarding schools for children from the National Strategy for Deinstitutionalisation. If implemented, this decision would affect more than 50.000 children warehoused across 353 institutions, many of whom have a disability, developmental disorder and/or illness."
Comprehensive Child Protection Law
Partly
Source: Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
i
Laws include: The Law of Ukraine on Protection of Childhood, The Law of Ukraine for Ensuring Organizational and Regulatory Conditions for Social Protection of Orphan Children and Children without Parental Care, The Family Code of Ukraine, The Civil Code of Ukraine; Law of Ukraine for prevention of and addressing to violence; Law of Ukraine on Access of Personal Data and Information; Law on public service; Law on Social Services
Continuum of Alternative Care Services Available
Limited
Law No. 2342-IV defines the following forms of placement: adoption, guardianship, foster care, family-type orphanage, baby home, children's home, boarding school (Kryvachuk, 2018)
i
"The development of family- and community-based care has been very limited. In other words, services to support families and children are not available. There are also limited family-based care alternatives." (Building a rights-based child protection system in Ukraine, free from institutions, December 2020).
Data System
Partly
National Deinstitutionalisation statistical platform: http://diplatform.org.ua/
Existence of a Regulatory Body and Regulatory System
No Data
NO SOURCE GIVEN
i
The Alternative NGO Report to the CRC calls on the government to "strengthen the legislative and regulatory framework in order to facilitate family reintegration."
Gatekeeping Mechanism/Policy
No Data
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Means of Tracking Progress with Reforms
Yes
The Ukrainian Child Rights Network utilized the Tracking Progress Initiative Tool in 2018
Moratorium on Admission into Institutions for Children Under 3
Limited
The National Strategy stipulates the implementation of a ban on the placement of children under 3 in institutional care starting in 2020
i
"One indicator of the national strategy stipulates the implementation of a ban on the placement of children under 3 in institutional care, starting from 2020. Yet, as of 01 January 2020, 2,742 children remained confined within 38 baby homes." (Building a rights-based child protection system in Ukraine, free from institutions, December 2020).
Moratorium on New Institutions
No Data
NO SOURCE GIVEN
National Action Plan to Guide Reforms
Yes
National Strategy on Reform of Institutional Care System for 2017-2026 and Action Plan
i
"The National Strategy of Reforming the System of Institutional Care and Upbringing of Children (2017-2026) and the Action Plan for the implementation of its first stage were approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in 2017. In June 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Action Plan for the second stage of the reform." (Building a rights-based child protection system in Ukraine, free from institutions, December 2020).
National Standards of Care
Partly
Cabinet of Ministers' Decree #565 and Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine #564
Prevention of Separation Services Available
Limited
Source: Opening Doors for Europe's Children 2018 Fact Sheet
i
According to the Opening Doors for Europe's Children 2018 Fact Sheet, "there is a lack of commitment to pursue sustainable child protection reform at the local level. Institutions continue to get public funding and resort to expanding the categories of children to avoid closure. Due to conservative and inflexible budgetary regulations, reallocation of existing resources for deinstitutionalisation or further development of community-based services are not possible either." Furthermore, "the development of community-based services for children and families is largely sporadic due to the lack of funding, lack of legal framework, lack of quality standards or low capacity of the service providers. Where services exist, they are mostly provided by the nongovernmental and civil society organisations and are severely underresourced, especially in rural, remote or deprived areas where needs are the highest."
Support for Careleavers (in Legislation and in Practice)
Limited
Source: Hope and Homes for Children, 2015
i
According to a 2015 Hope and Homes for Children report, "legislative acts governing education, health, and social protection of children lack a single, child-centred approach and clear principles, which would combine prevention and support for families with children, provision of education, delivery of health and social services, addressing housing issues and the socialisation of children and young people leaving the institutional care system." Furthermore, the report finds that "Children living in institutions receive no meaningful training on how to live an independent life. There are only a few documented cases where volunteers and NGO representatives organise special courses on life skills for institutionalised children."
7.00 billion
UAH
State Funding for Institutions
Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
i
According to the 2020 Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, in 2014, 5.1 billion UAH (approximately $255 million) were allocated from the state budget to fund institutions, in 2015, about 6.4 billion UAH (approximately $291 million), in 2016 - more than 7 billion UAH (about $280 million). A 2020 Call to Action coordinated by Hope and Homes for Children and Lumos notes that "There have been instances of opposition and malpractice by the authorities which manage institutions (including baby homes), particularly in relation to funding and budgets. In some cases, children have been misdiagnosed to ensure their placement in an institution, e.g. to stop a planned closure and keep public funding flowing in. In other cases, institution directors have re-categorised their facilities by changing the name but not the reality of the setting." Furthermore, "the money does not follow the child, meaning that the statutory funding received by institutions is not transferred once the children are reintegrated into the community, leaving cash-strapped local authorities struggling to pay for the new services to support vulnerable families to stay together."
key_stakeholders
Key Stakeholders
Add New DataCountry
Government
i
The Ministry of Education and Science oversees children's homes and boarding schools, including boarding schools for children deprived of parental care (Kryvachuk, 2018).
i
The Ministry of Social Policy oversees placements for children with disabilities (Kryvachuk, 2018).
i
The Ministry of Health oversees placements for children under 3 years old (Kryvachuk, 2018).
Civil Society Organisations
Effective
drivers_of_institutionalisation
Drivers of Institutionaliziation
Add New DataCountry
Push Factors
Lack of Support Services for Families
i
Source: Opening Doors for Europe's Children Ukraine Factsheet 2018; The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016); Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
Lack of Inclusive Education and Other Services for Children with Disabilities
i
Source: Opening Doors for Europe's Children Ukraine Factsheet 2018; The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016); Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
Poverty
i
Source: Opening Doors for Europe's Children Ukraine Factsheet 2018; The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016); Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
Domestic Violence
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016)
Cancellation of Guardianship or Foster Care
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016)
Removal from Foster Families or Family-Type Children's Homes
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016)
Social Vulnerability of Families
i
Source: Opening Doors for Europe's Children Ukraine Factsheet 2018; The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016); Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
Unemployment of Parents
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016); Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
Incapacity of Parents to Support Children
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016)
Challenges of Supporting Children with Behavioural or Learning Issues
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016)
Advice from School Staff
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016)
Parental Illness or Alcoholism
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016); Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
Displacement from Temporarily Occupied Territories
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016)
Decision of Relevant Child Welfare Authority or Other Professional
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016)
Pull Factors
Access to Education
i
Source: The Illusion of Protection (Hope and Homes for Children, 2016); Alternative NGO Report to the UNCRC, 2020
Access to Specialized Care for Children with Disabilities
Existence of Institutions
i
"In some cases, the simple existence of the institutions drives family separation. Institutions are convenient for public authorities, as they create a micro-economy of services and local employment." (Building a rights-based child protection system in Ukraine, free from institutions, December 2020). "The very existence of institutions forces their personnel to 'recruit' children and to issue dubious diagnoses. (The Illusion of Protection. Hope and Homes for Children, 2016)
Effective
key_research_and_information
Key Data Sources
Add New DataDisplaying 21 - 30 of 413
This article examines the socialization and education of orphaned children in Ukraine amid the war, highlighting the psychological trauma, deprivation, and social challenges they face. It calls for reforms in caregiver training, trauma-informed education, and the adoption of a personal paradigm approach that supports each child’s development, resilience, and self-realization.
File
This news story from CBC Canada explores how Ukrainian officials say 19,000 children have been forcibly transferred to Russia since the war began, including many with complicated health issues.
The document presents Ukraine’s ongoing child protection reform, known as the Better Care for Every Child initiative, which focuses on shifting from institutional to family- and community-based care. It outlines the key priorities of the National Strategy on Deinstitutionalization, including early identification of vulnerabilities, family support services, inclusive education, and the development of quality alternative care.
File
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) and the UNICEF Refugee Response Office in the Czech Republic commissioned this report to assess the situation of refugee children in alternative care. While examining the broader system and identifying how this system can be improved, the analysis pays particular attention to the needs of refugee children from Ukraine following the significant increase in refugee arrivals since 2022.
File
This response report provides an overview of child protection concerns in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has deeply fractured the primary protective environment for children—the family. Mass displacement has separated millions of children from parents, siblings, and extended relatives, while indiscriminate attacks continue to kill and injure children at alarming rates.
File
The Technical Guidance for Oblast-Level Better Care Start-up outlines how to implement Ukraine’s Better Care programme at the regional level, in line with the National Strategy for Ensuring the Right of Every Child to Grow up in a Family Environment (2024–2028). It assigns clear roles to government, local authorities, civil society, and development partners, and provides a step-by-step approach for oblasts: forming Better Care Councils and community taskforces, conducting situational analyses, creating costed plans, setting monitoring frameworks, and delivering ISSB and family-based care.
File
This document outlines a minimum package of social services aimed at preventing child-family separation, supporting reintegration of children from institutional care into families, and sustaining family-based care. The package includes eight core services: resilience-building support; accompaniment for families raising orphans; early intervention; inclusive education assistance; day care for children with disabilities; social support for families in difficult life circumstances; social integration for care leavers; and supported living for young people with disabilities.
File
This assessment examined how the child protection system supports children and families in vulnerable situations, with a particular focus on supporting the significant number of refugee children from Ukraine who have come to the Czech Republic since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
File
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, citing the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian chi
In this Q&A, Olena Remen, head of the expert group on family-based forms of upbringing and adoption at the Coordination Center for the Development of Family-Based Care and Education in Ukraine discusses the regional implementation of the country's four-year strategy to prioritize family-based care.