Kyiv, 30 September 2022 – The government of Ukraine and international partners are working to make the adoption process in the country easier, simpler, and more convenient for adoptive parents by introducing new digital solutions. High-level representatives of Ukrainian Ministries and the Office of the President of Ukraine presented the progress made in this at a press briefing “The Child Is Not Alone. Adoption in Progress” dedicated to Adoption Day, which is celebrated today in Ukraine.

Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, said that the Ministry is making every effort to enable adoptive parents to accept children into their families, as being in a family is in the best interests of the child. “Despite the active war, the departure of children from dangerous regions, finding out the child's status – whether there are natural parents or not – we understand that the family is the best form of living for a child,” she said. “Therefore, we are making every effort, taking into account the new challenges and ensuring the best interests of the child, to provide an opportunity for adoptive parents to accept children into their families, as well as expand the circle of parents who are ready to provide family warmth to children while their status is being clarified.”

Daria Herasymchuk, Adviser – Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children's Rights and Children's Rehabilitation, stressed that it is on Adoption Day that we should honor those who open the doors of their homes and hearts to children left without parental care. “There is still a lot of work to be done,” she said. “Ukraine is continuing to build an effective system of social protection for children and support for families in difficult life circumstances in order to back and support them if these circumstances destroy their family. The President of Ukraine pays special attention to the fate of children. We thank all parents, educators, adoptive parents, foster parents, and guardians, for giving family love, warmth and care to disadvantaged children!”

At the beginning of the war, the “The Child Is Not Alone” initiative of the Commissioner of the President – a nationwide programme aimed at helping children who, for various reasons, were left without parental care, are in need of shelter, who have become lost, or whose rights were violated during the war was launched. UNICEF continues to support the programme.

Murat Sahin, UNICEF Ukraine Representative, said that no child should be left in an institution without family care and support. “Every child has the right to grow up in a family environment,” he said. “It is the best environment for children’s development, particularly during early childhood. Every Child deserves the family love, care and protection. We are committed to work with partners and parents to make this happen during these difficult times.”

In recent years, the digitalization of public administration has been actively underway in the country, which makes it possible to simplify and speed up the provision of public services, even remotely. Currently, the digitalization of the adoption process has begun.

Denys Ivanov, Head of the Electronic Services Implementation Team of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, emphasized that the goal of the Ministry’s team is to make the adoption process in Ukraine convenient and understandable, and to consign excessive bureaucracy to the past. “It’s already possible to submit an application for counseling and for the adoption of a child at the Diia portal,” he said. “There’s no need to go somewhere and stand in a queue. Everything is transparent, free and clear. We hope that digitalization of processes will make it possible to create even more happy families, and that in the long run this will help overcome orphanhood in Ukraine.”

Given that there are many tasks in the field of digitalization, international partners are supporting the government. One of them is the United Nations Development Programme, which, with the support of Sweden, has been supporting initiatives in the field of digitalization of public services for many years.

Volodymyr Brusilovskyi, manager of the DIA Support project, emphasized that the main priority for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine is to support Ukrainian citizens, especially those from the most vulnerable groups. That is why, with the support of Sweden, UNDP is helping the Government create initiatives so that help even more Ukrainian children find their families and gain protection, which is especially important in times of war. “Together with our government partners, we’re working to create a set of e-services covering the steps facing people who want to adopt a child” he said. “We’ve already developed tools that make it possible to sign up for adoption counselling and registering as an adoption candidate online. We plan to fully digitalize this process, which will make it as simple, convenient and fast as possible for future parents.”

Moreover, SOS Children's Villages Ukraine, together with the Ministry of Social Policy, is launching new activities to support families who adopted children in 2022 or who plan to do so this year, National Director Serhii Lukashov announced. As part of a multi-purpose financial assistance programme, 500 families who adopted children from 1 January, 2022 to December 31, 2022 will receive support, except in cases of intra-family adoption. “Since the beginning of the full-scale war, we have seen a significant increase in the number of people willing to adopt children into their families” he said. “In our opinion, even in such difficult times, the child's right to live in a full-fledged family has to be realized.”

Background

Two adoption services have recently been launched on the Diia portal. Since 1 June, it has been possible to submit an application to have a consultation on the adoption of a child, and from September, it has been possible to register as a candidate to become an adoptive parent on the Diia portal online.

The project was implemented at the initiative of the Adviser – Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children's Rights and Children's Rehabilitation, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the DIA Support project, which the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine is implementing with funding from Sweden.

UNDP in Ukraine is implementing the Digital, Inclusive, Accessible: Support to Digitalisation of Public Services in Ukraine Project (DIA Support Project), under which the digitalized adoption services were developed, with financial support from Sweden. The project, which was launched in 2021, aims to bridge the digital divide between generations and various social groups. Its main goal is to increase the accessibility of new digital solutions, so that every man and woman in Ukraine can use electronic services, and no one is left behind.

Media inquiries

Yuliia Samus, Communications Team Leader, UNDP in Ukraine, Yuliia.Samus@undp.org

Photo: Oleksii Filipov / UNICEF Ukraine