Yevheniia Melesh, lawyer of the Charitable Organization "Charity Fund "Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya", took part in a meeting of representatives of public organizations, charitable foundations, authorities, and social services of territorial communities, where the key topic of discussion was the Regional Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy for Ensuring the Right of Every Child in Ukraine to Grow Up in a Family Environment. The Strategy was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on November 26, 2024. 

The participants emphasized that one of the key tasks of the state policy in the field of child rights protection is the development of family-based care and the gradual reduction of the boarding school system. This principle, among other things, guides the activities of the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya.

"Our charitable organization has been taking care of several social institutions in the region for many years, synchronizing its vision with both the best foreign practices and systemic reforms in the social sphere in Ukraine. We are focused on supporting the transformation of social institutions to become, instead of institutionalized facilities, primarily places of comprehensive social and other services for people with disabilities. We are implementing relevant steps in the Vilshany Orphanage and the Social Habilitation and Rehabilitation Center "Parasolka", which, for example, already has a social services department, an early intervention department and a "School of Supported Living", Yevheniia Melesh said during the meeting. 

According to the Children’s Service of the Transcarpathian Regional Military Administration, there are currently 2095 orphans and children deprived of parental care in Transcarpathia. 1773 of them are being brought up in 55 foster families, 38 Family-type children’s homes, 950 families of guardians and caregivers, another 273 children are in institutional care facilities, and 49 are in other temporary forms of placement, including 13 in 9 foster families.

During the meeting, the participants discussed current challenges and effective strategies to support families in crisis, reviewed the key objectives of the National Strategy for Ensuring the Right of Every Child to Grow Up in a Family Environment, opportunities for developing partnerships between regional and local authorities, the public sector and philanthropists in the implementation of deinstitutionalization reform, and worked on proposals to be included in the Regional Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy.

Photo: Transcarpathian Regional Military Administration