During the briefing in the Official Media Center at the Lviv State University, the speakers talked, in particular, about the statistics of adoption and the placement of children in family forms of upbringing, the peculiarities of adoption during the war, the reconstruction of the regional children’s shelter.
Children are always a very important topic. Especially when it comes to children deprived of parental care, orphans, children who have lost their parents or their parents have disappeared, children who need the care of a guardian, or children who were abroad due to the war and are now returning to Ukraine .
Ivan Sobko, deputy head of Lviv OVA, emphasized this during the briefing.
He talked, in particular, about the purchase of housing for children and the reconstruction of the building of the regional children’s shelter.
“We, as a region and as a regional budget, state that we did not stop the work and operation of the regional program for the purchase of housing for orphans and children deprived of parental care. This year, the region together with the communities paid for seven apartments for children, and documents are already being prepared for the ownership of housing for such children. The regional budget provides about 5 million hryvnias, which we will effectively use by the end of the year together with territorial communities to purchase housing for children.
We work to ensure that children are not in shelters, because a child should be in a family. It is right. Even when this process has not yet been achieved, it is good when the child lives in a family-type orphanage. We have them in our region, we promote them. But this is more a function of local authorities. And we try to explain, motivate, convey the importance of building or renovating premises for such forms. We certainly take a cue from the good initiative of the First Lady, who promotes these things.
There are many interesting ideas that we are sure will also be successfully implemented in the Lviv region. We have an ambitious goal – to reconstruct the regional shelter on the street. Levandivska in Lviv. We are sure that by the end of next year, we will all see there not a shelter, but a modern child and family support center. We have provided funds for this in the regional budget, there will be conditionally two phases (the reconstruction will be carried out in two phases – ed.). This year we hope to start construction work and finish it in the second year.
Yes, the war continues, defenders protect our country, so we in the rear must work ten times faster and more efficiently,” said Ivan Sobko.
As of today, 2,214 orphans and children deprived of parental care live in Lviv region. Of these, 2,116 children are in family forms of guardianship – that’s more than 94%. This is a big job of local authorities and relevant services, which are looking for a foster family, adoptive parents or guardians for each child.
Volodymyr Lys, head of the LOVA Children’s Service, told about this.
Regarding adoption:
“In 2022, in the post-war period, and in the year when the war began, only 12 children were adopted in the Lviv region. In six months of 2023, 22 children were already adopted, and in seven months – 31 children. This is a great work of the employees, and it is also the desire of people to adopt children – today we have 150 candidates, residents of the Lviv region, who are registered for adoption at the Children’s Service of LOVA”, – said Volodymyr Lys.
The number of children who were placed in foster families and family-type orphanages in the region this year also increased.
“Last year, during the same period, a total of 22 children were placed, as of July 1 of this year – 51 children, and as of August 1 – 59 children were placed in foster families and DBST. Currently, there are 43 DBST, 77 foster families in the region, in which 438 orphans and children deprived of parental care are raised. During this year, 2 DBSTs were created. Two more houses moved from the east, bought housing, re-registered and will function here in the Lviv region,” said Volodymyr Lys.
Training for candidates for adoptive parents, guardians, custodians, educators:
Centers of social services, family and youth in Lviv Oblast periodically, once a month, conduct training. The all-Ukrainian organization “Partnership” for Every Child helps in conducting the training. First, all candidates study together, and then people decide who they want to be and continue their studies accordingly, because there are certain differences and requirements for guardians, adopters, etc. Groups consist of 20 to 26 people.
Children evacuated to Lviv Oblast from other regions:
In total, there are more than 350 status children from other regions in 17 different institutions in Lviv Oblast. These are children from 0 to 17 years old, many of whom are already enrolled in lyceums and colleges.
Volodymyr Lys emphasized: it is important that not all these children can be adopted.
“Many of these children do not have the status of children deprived of parental care. Parents may be in captivity, may be in the occupied territory, missing. Only after victory will we be able to give such children the appropriate status. They can now be placed in DBST, a foster family, in guardianship, care, but not