The institutionalization rate in Ukraine is the highest on the European continent with an estimated 100,000 children living in institutional facilities.8 Importantly, the majority of children in the care system in Ukraine are not orphans, but 70% of these children have family members in Ukraine and approximately half of these children are living with disabilities.9 For many families, institutionalisation was the result of the lack of systemic family strengthening mechanisms, tailored support, and access to essential services in the community.

Implications of the escalation of the conflict on children in institutional care: As of 19th of March 2022, Ministry of Social Policy (MoSP) reported that nearly 5,000 children from 179 institutional care centers were evacuated. In some cases, staff of residential care facilities evacuated residents on their own, raising questions about the formality of such evacuations and where the residents, especially where children, end up. MoSP issued a decree that children living in foster care or institutional care need to have an invitation that states the country of final stay, and written agreement of the regional military administration, agreed by national social services, in order to cross the border and leave Ukraine.

A recent collaboration between UNICEF and Partnership for Every Child produced a nation-wide mapping of institutions, the number and location of children living in institutions who were rapidly returned to biological family members at the start of the escalation of the war, and additional data on displacement of children living in institutions in-country and abroad. Estimated 42,989 children from institutions were returned to the care of parents or other legal representatives,12 which potentially leads to unintended consequences without any due preparation or proper child protection risk assessment. In this life-threatening context, children without appropriate family care in Ukraine are at increased risk of being victims of abuse, violence, and exploitation.

The recent escalation of the conflict has further exposed the liabilities and deep-rooted weaknesses of the child protection and care system including a critical lack of centralized information on children from institutions and an opaque system with unclear judicial frameworks and responsibilities. Importantly, in a country with a previous systemic culture of institutionalization, the internal displacement of children and the growing numbers of unaccompanied and separated children, including orphans, is leading to the creation or expansion of institutions in very precarious conditions. There are risks of misusing the outpouring of private donations and the allocation of institutional funding to support the rebuilding and expansion of the system of institutions, both during the conflict and at times when attention shifts from the emergency response towards a phase of stabilization and rebuilding of the Ukrainian society. This poses serious risks that the harmful institutionalization system is normalized, made more acceptable and even further strengthened during the recovery phase, halting previous efforts of limiting institutionalization and promoting family care.

Since the beginning of the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, the authorities have allowed children to be temporarily placed in foster families but haven’t provided financial support. Only families who have taken children for permanent, long-term placement can expect any financial support from the state. Due to Social Services’ limited budgets, relevant authorities are incapable of affording to employ professional psychotherapists, clinical psychologies and other necessary specialists needed to respond and support the children who have experienced trauma; from the loss of their parents, their safe environments, becoming vulnerable to violence or neglect and on top of the prevailing covid-19 situation which had already curtailed access to the education system.

Creating much needed new foster families in Ukraine is only possible if applicants undergo vetting and special training. But again, due to the lack of funding within the local state budgets and the limited number of certified trainers, such training support is extremely rare and exacerbates the situation. The most vulnerable groups are those families living in remote rural areas, as social services providers are usually located centrally. These families have lost their jobs since war, and have been unable to register for social welfare payments as state system has been closed down.

Goal: To improve protective family and community-based care for vulnerable children affected by the escalation of the conflict
Outcome 1: Increased access to resources for parents and caregivers of children at risk of separation
Outcome 2: Increased access to family-based alternative care services for children in need
Outcome 3: Adoption of learning agenda for strengthened family-based care in humanitarian context