Objective of the project
The project is designed to support for the implementation of the Better Care Reform of the child care system in Ukraine. The objective of the project is to address the most urgent, newly emerging, and complex needs of children affected by the war in the following key areas: safe initial shelter; medium-term psychological rehabilitation and adaptation support; increased accessibility of services and strengthening of psychiatric care standards at the national level.
Project activities and status
The project includes the reconstruction of a children’s care home in the Kyiv region, adapting the building for the operation of a Child and Family Support Centre. This will involve developmemt of short-term accommodation facilities and the creation of social and psychological service areas. This activity will significantly increase access to social, psychological, and educational services in the target region. Essential services will be provided to children returned from temporarily occupied territories or forced deportation and to their caregivers, as well as to foster families newly caring for children deprived of parental care.
One of the most pressing challenges in Ukraine is the lack of housing for foster families. Therefore, the project foresees the installation of modular housing in the Kyiv region: 10 modular units securing family style accommodation for up to 80 persons per year.
Foster families caring for children with mobility challenges, as well as families caring for a large number of children in the regions, often have to travel long distances to access rehabilitation, social, or other specialized services. To remove mobility barrier and ensure better access to, the project includes the procurement of vehicles (up to 19 units).
The project also includes the development of child rehabilitation and mental health capabilities in Lviv, partial hospital reconstruction, strengthening of inpatient capacity and staff, development of war trauma treatment methodologies, and enhancement of specialist competencies. The reconstruction of the hospital department will increase the number of inpatient beds in the child psychiatry department from the current 7 to 20, and an art therapy space will be developed.
Additionally, funding is planned for the development of diagnostic and treatment methodologies for children affected by war trauma, as well as for training social workers and staff of other institutions and NGOs working with children. These trainings will help ensure earlier identification and faster provision of assistance to children affected by war trauma. It is planned to train up to 150 specialists.
