A New Approach to Family Care in Ukraine
A broad meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities took place in Kyiv, attended by representatives from the President's Office and the government.
The meeting involved the head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak, his deputy Viktor Nikita, the ministers of social policy and internal affairs, among other key figures. They discussed topics related to changes in the child care system.
The main focus was on eliminating institutional care for children. Participants discussed specific steps to implement a new strategy that ensures children's rights to grow up in family settings. Yermak emphasized the significance of this issue for the regions.
“This problem remains relevant. It needs to become a priority for the regions. We are ready to support any initiatives,” Yermak stated.
The discussion also addressed the verification of information on children abducted by Russia. The Ministry of Justice has implemented a registry for collecting data on these children, with each region committed to ensuring the information is up to date.
“We are talking about over a million children under Russian control. We need to know their condition,” Yermak added.
The Minister of Social Policy highlighted the role of social workers in protecting children and their families. Communities must have a clear action plan in place for instances where a child is left without parental care.
“The primary goal is for children to grow up in families, not institutions,” Uluytin concluded.
Yermak thanked all participants for their active involvement in implementing the strategy and called for increased funding from partners.
Legislative support for regional policy and government programs in the regions was also discussed.
“A child in a family is a priority for us. Reforms must receive political backing,” Tulyakova concluded.
