INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE ON SOCIAL COMMISSIONING IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD

Abstract

The urgency of the research under consideration is determined by the need to speed up the process of introducing a social order in Ukraine. At the same time, conceptual issues regarding the social ordering of social services for children and their families in accordance with the international standards are not sufficiently substantiated. The purpose of the article: analysis of the international experience of social ordering of services for children and their families in the system of providing the social services in the best interests of a child. The article uses a theoretical analysis of modern scientific literature by Ukrainian and foreign researchers on the research topic, methods of generalization and systematization to deepen the understanding of social order, modern trends in the system of providing social services, as well as the specifics of purchasing social services by local authorities from non-state providers in EU countries. Social order in Ukraine is defined as a means of regulating activities in the system of providing social services by engaging social service providers on a contractual basis to meet the needs of individuals/families in social services in accordance with the results of determining the needs of the population of the administrative-territorial unit/territorial community in social services. Research attention is paid to the fact that in the process of social ordering, the power to protect children cannot be delegated, that is, local authorities should remain the only responsible body for key decisions in the best interests of the child.