The State Service of Ukraine for Children and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Unite to Protect Children’s Rights
On June 17, 2025, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, met with Petro Dobromylsky, Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Children, at the administrative building of the Patriarchal Center of the UGCC in Kyiv. Hryhoriy Selechuk, Program Director of the charitable organization Caritas Ukraine, also took part in the meeting.
The parties discussed ways to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation to support children affected by the full-scale invasion, as well as families facing difficult life circumstances. Special attention was given to preventing the separation of children from their families and to developing family-based forms of care, such as foster families, family-type children’s homes, guardianship, and adoption promotion.
“We are ready to be your reliable partners,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav. “Our Church has been actively involved in child protection efforts for several years. We have the necessary structures and mechanisms in place to assist these children.”
Petro Dobromylsky, in turn, expressed confidence that collaboration and joint efforts would help thousands of Ukrainian children find warmth, protection, and love in families. “We continue our work to ensure that every child in Ukraine enjoys a happy and safe childhood,” he emphasized.
Both the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Caritas Ukraine confirmed their commitment to systematic cooperation with the State Service for Children. The parties agreed to continue developing concrete mechanisms for collaboration at both the national and local levels.
Information about orphans and children deprived of parental care
According to official data from the State Service of Ukraine for Children, as of the first quarter of 2025:
— 61,276 children are registered as orphans and children deprived of parental care.
— 55,860 of them are already being raised in family settings:
— 43,657 children are under the guardianship or care of citizens;
— 12,203 children (including 1,773 orphans and children deprived of parental care) are in foster families or family-type children’s homes.
ADOPTION
As of the first quarter of 2025 in Ukraine:
• 14,946 children are registered for adoption, of whom 11,154 have already been placed in family-based care.
• 290 orphaned children and children deprived of parental care were adopted. All children were adopted by Ukrainian citizens, six of whom are children with disabilities.
Age distribution of adopted children:
• under 1 year old — 35 children
• 1–2 years old — 52 children
• 3–5 years old — 85 children
• 6–10 years old — 78 children
• 11–17 years old — 40 children
FAMILY-TYPE CHILDREN’S HOMES (FTCH)
As of the 1 st quarter of 2025:
- 1,292 family-type children’s homes are operating.
8,703 children and individuals are being raised in such families.
- 18 FCHs have been established.
- A total of 326 children were placed in these homes.
FOSTER FAMILIES
As of the 1 st quarter of 2025:
- 2,774 foster families are functioning.
5,273 children and individuals are being raised in foster families.
- 79 foster families have been created.
- A total of 194 children were placed.
GUARDIANSHIP/CARE
As of the first quarter of 2025:
- 43,657 children are under the guardianship/care of citizens.
- 1,518 new guardianships/care arrangements were established.
- 2,121 guardianship cases have been terminated, of which:
- 1,584 children reached the age of majority
- 92 children were adopted
- 79 children were returned to their biological parents
PATRONAGE SERVICE
Patronage is an alternative to institutional care that is in the best interests of the child. The child stays with a caring family while their parents resolve their problems or a new permanent family is sought.
Since the beginning of 2024, the child patronage service has been actively developing in Ukraine.
Currently, 518 patronage families are working in communities. They are temporarily raising 1,019 children whose parents are unable to care for them for various reasons.
Between January 2024 and the beginning of June this year, 2,228 children were or continue to be in patronage families.
Of these, 658 are children between the ages of birth and four who have avoided children’s homes thanks to foster care.
Patronage families are truly helping to keep children out of institutions: over the past year and a half, 43 % of children in foster care have returned to their biological families, and 44 % were placed in family-based care.
The UGCC Department for Information
