At the same time, the procedure for registration of guardianship for relatives and close relatives is now simplified.
Daily is the number of children who died or were injured as a result of a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. Although the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies emphasize that the official figures are far from the real ones, there are objective reasons for that. In an interview with ZN.UA, Darya Gerasymchuk, an adviser to the President's Commissioner for Children's Rights and Children's Rehabilitation, told about the number of children who lost their families due to the war and the situation with adoption during martial law. . Alla Kotlyar talked to her.
“There are no figures yet on how many children were orphaned (that is, both father and mother were lost). And there are indeed objective reasons for this. A child is not considered an orphan until he or she has been granted court status. Prior to this, appropriate work must be carried out in accordance with the procedure. Since the beginning of the war, there have been many different reports on social media that a child has been orphaned and needs to be adopted immediately. However, even if a child has lost one parent and never lived with another, he or she may not be a complete orphan. This is the first time, “Gerasymchuk said.
Secondly, according to the Commissioner, people often forget: even if a child has lost both parents, she may have other close relatives – grandparents, aunt, uncle, with whom the child was in close contact. And the fact of losing parents does not mean that the child needs a new family. Gerasymchuk explained that they are usually looking for relatives, and the child is placed in the care of acquaintances and people close to her. Therefore, according to her, it is premature to say that there are a large number of children who need to find a new family.
At the same time, Gerasymchuk noted that no legal acts in Ukraine had stopped or banned adoption during martial law. But this is a certain procedure, and it must be performed completely.
“There is something to improve, but there is nothing to simplify. A child cannot be transferred from one dangerous situation to another. Adoption is forever, and to say that all the children who are in our institutions of institutional care, you just have to give to families, sometimes not even knowing which one, – it's definitely wrong, “- said the commissioner. p>
Read also: Gerasymchuk on the evacuation of children abroad: “The biggest problem is the inconsistency of Ukrainian legislation with EU law”
Therefore, according to her, since the beginning of the war, the adoption procedure was unofficially suspended because could not go completely and correctly along the entire legal chain. At the same time, during the martial law in Ukraine, the procedure for registration of guardianship was simplified only for relatives and close circle of relatives.
“Temporary placement of a child in a family is also being used. This is not a new form, but it is more common now. It is clear from the name that the child is placed in a family for a certain period of time. In this form, the state does not pay any money to the family. This is a temporary shelter for a child, voluntarily provided by the family, “Gerasimchuk added.
She also said that since the first days of the war, the Office of the President together with the Ministry of Social Policya chatbot in a telegram called “The child is not alone” . All interested citizens of Ukraine who were on the territory of the country could apply for temporary placement of a child in need, in their family.
“During the war, more than 18,000 Ukrainian citizens applied for chatbots. They were sent in-depth information about this form of arrangement. For example, that with the child it will not be possible to go abroad and so on. If people then confirmed their wish, they were asked to provide more information and fill out a questionnaire, which was then developed by the children's services. They were also offered online training on communication with the child and possible psychological problems, etc., “Gerasymchuk said.
After that, according to her, if there was a child in need of temporary placement, the children’s service throughout Ukraine contacted such a family and handed over the child to her. The commissioner said that more than 2,000 children were treated in this way. Not necessarily orphans or deprived of parental care. Sometimes it is a child whose relatives cannot be found. Or, for example, the child lived with his grandmother, who was hospitalized with pneumonia. There are different cases. We do not want to place found children in institutional care facilities. We want the children to be included in the family immediately, albeit temporarily.
Read also: With the beginning of the full-scale war, not all institutions with children were evacuated: why did it happen?
“To date, all our structures have recovered. Recently, at a meeting of the Coordination Staff, we heard a report from the Judicial Administration on the work of judges in different regions of Ukraine. We are currently analyzing all adoption issues to resume the adoption process in the coming weeks. There are moments that need to be coordinated by certain algorithms. Including at the regulatory level. So that everyone knows how to act in a given case. For example, if the child or candidates for adoption have moved and are now in another region, or the child is abroad and so on. We are in the process of finding the latest answers to the issues that need to be resolved. Not easy, but necessary. And I hope that the adoption procedure will be resumed in the near future, “the commissioner said.
Gerasymchuk added that it is also mandatory to train candidates for adoption. And it will continue. “Whoever you are, you need to know about the peculiarities of communication with a child who previously lived in an institution of institutional care, or with a child who has now suffered a very serious psychological trauma. We are currently preparing changes to digitize the procedure somewhat. For example, to be able to apply online, get an invitation to study. But face-to-face training and interviews will be a must, “Gerasimchuk said. According to official juvenile prosecutors, 229 children were killed and more than 421 injured.
