Children without parental care in Ukraine: consequences of full-scale war

Abstract

The spread of the phenomenon of social orphanhood, neglect of some children is one of the acute socio-demographic problems of Ukraine in the last three decades. Orphans and children deprived of parental care are a special group of children who’s the number has increased in Ukraine since the mid-1990s, that is, during the period of maximum aggravation of the transformational crisis. The gradual improvement of the economic situation and society's attention to childhood problems, the activation of social policy contributed to a gradual decrease in the number of children in this category. Family forms of keeping these children have become widespread - guardianship, foster families, family-type orphanages, etc. But in the conditions of a full-scale war, the positive trend towards a gradual decrease in the number of these children was interrupted, since many children suffered from the war: their parents died or were seriously injured, went missing, were forcibly deported, etc. This is one of the worst consequences of war. Creating comfortable living conditions and harmonious development of this group of children in the conditions of war is a difficult task that requires a scientific approach, improving legislation and concentrating the efforts of relevant organizations. In the extreme conditions of the war, family forms of keeping children left without parental care due to the war are spreading: increasing cases of taking into families for guardianship/care and national adoption is continuing. The study is based on information from open sources, expert assessments, and data from the State Statistics Service.