This policy brief demonstrates how UNICEF's Better Start and Better Care frameworks complement one another to strengthen child wellbeing through integrated early childhood development and child protection systems in Ukraine. It explains that Better Start focuses on universal and targeted services for children from pregnancy to age six, while Better Care provides progressive support for children at risk of family separation or living in alternative care.

This brief presents the rationale, service model, and estimated costs for scaling up Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services in Ukraine under the National Strategy to Ensure Every Child's Right to Grow Up in a Family Environment. It explains how multidisciplinary, family-centred services support children under four years of age with developmental delays, disabilities, or risks of developmental impairment by strengthening parental capacity and promoting children's inclusion in family and community life.

This case study examines the supervision system for the social work workforce in the United Kingdom, highlighting governance arrangements, professional standards, implementation practices, and lessons relevant to strengthening supervision in Ukraine. The publication describes supervision as a legally mandated and reflective practice embedded within employer accountability systems and professional development, rather than solely a performance management mechanism.

This brief summarizes the findings of a national assessment of supportive supervision for Ukraine's social sector workforce and presents key policy recommendations for strengthening supervision systems. Based on a desk review, an online survey of 2,448 social sector professionals, and interviews with key informants, the assessment identifies significant gaps in the current supervision system, including limited access to supervision, inconsistent understanding of supervisory practice, the absence of recognized professional standards and certification for supervisors, and fragmented legal regulation.

This brief presents the rationale, service model, and estimated costs for expanding positive parenting services in Ukraine as part of the National Strategy to Ensure Every Child's Right to Grow Up in a Family Environment. It describes a comprehensive parenting support model aimed at strengthening the knowledge, skills, and resilience of parents and caregivers through community workshops, parenting classes, self-help groups, one-to-one counselling, and community outreach.

This brief summarizes findings from a workforce capacity assessment examining the knowledge, skills, and competencies of Ukraine's social sector workforce in support of the Strategy on Ensuring Every Child's Right to Grow Up in a Family Environment (2024–2028).

This brief summarizes findings from a workforce capacity assessment examining the knowledge, skills, and competencies of Ukraine's social sector workforce in support of the Strategy on Ensuring Every Child's Right to Grow Up in a Family Environment (2024–2028).

This policy brief outlines recommendations for strengthening Ukraine's social sector workforce through the adoption of competency-based professional standards, workforce regulation, and continuous professional development. Drawing on a rapid review of international experience from the United Kingdom, Romania, Germany, France, Sweden, and Poland, the publication examines how competency frameworks support professional identity, service quality, workforce regulation, and alignment between education and practice.

This study examines the protection of unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) displaced by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, focusing on their vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation across European host countries. Using a mixed-methods approach, it assesses the effectiveness of existing protection systems, identifies key intersectional risks, and highlights emerging good practices, with the aim of informing improved responses to current and future large-scale child displacement crises.

This brief examines how armed conflict affects children’s development and family life, drawing on attachment theory and insights from the war in Ukraine. It highlights both the harms of war and the resilience of families, emphasizing the need for targeted support to help caregivers and professionals provide safe, stable care for children during and after conflict.