Child benefits will increase 2–3 times: the government proposes new rules for guardianship, adoption, and foster families

The Cabinet of Ministers supported draft law 15438 "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine to Improve Child Protection Mechanisms and Ensure Their Right to Family Upbringing." The document, developed by the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine, has already been registered in the Verkhovna Rada.

The draft law is one of the key stages in implementing the Strategy to Ensure Every Child’s Right in Ukraine to Grow Up in a Family Environment for 2024–2028. It provides for a comprehensive update of the child protection system, strengthening support for family forms of upbringing, and introducing new mechanisms for responding to threats to children’s life and health.

The draft law amends 18 legislative acts, including the Family Code, Civil Procedure Code, laws on child protection, on bodies and services for children, and on state assistance to families with children.

Child benefits may increase 2–3 times

One of the main changes will be an increase in state support for children.

Assistance for a child under guardianship or custody, as well as for a child placed in a foster family or family-type children’s home, may increase from the current 7,042–8,780 UAH to 15,750–20,250 UAH depending on the child’s age.

For children with disabilities, payments are planned to increase almost threefold — from 9,860–12,292 UAH to 24,750–29,250 UAH.

For the first time, a one-time payment of 36,000 UAH is proposed upon establishing guardianship or custody over a child or placing them in a foster family or family-type children’s home.

The Ministry clarifies that the calculations are approximate and made based on the current value of the base amount in the experimental project (4,500 UAH). The final amount of payments will be calculated according to the Law on the State Budget for 2027.

24/7 response by child services

The draft law proposes to introduce round-the-clock operational response to reports of threats to a child — at night, on weekends, and holidays.

In this regard, the draft law proposes to revise the staffing standards of child services at the level of territorial communities. For urban communities, one service worker per no more than 1,500 children is envisaged; for rural and settlement communities — one worker per no more than 800 children. In communities with fewer children, the service must consist of at least three workers.

The draft law also links 24/7 response to wage issues. Home duty must be recorded and paid as a separate work mode when the employee is off-site but must be on call and ready to respond if necessary. If a report is received during such duty and the employee actually performs official duties, that time must be paid as actual work time. If work is performed at night, on weekends, or holidays, the corresponding payment rules apply.

For the first time at the legislative level, communities are required to provide child services with official transport or find other alternatives (including through municipal enterprise transport, contracts with carriers, or reimbursement of expenses for using personal transport according to legislation) so that specialists can promptly reach a child at any time of day. Specialists must also be provided with modern communication means and mobile computer equipment.

Strengthening the child’s right to family upbringing

An orphan or a child deprived of parental care may stay in an institution for no more than six months while a family is sought for them — adoption, guardianship, foster family, or family-type children’s home.

From 2027, new family forms of upbringing are proposed to be created in the format of foster families. At the same time, all previously established family-type children’s homes will continue to operate.

It is also prohibited to separate siblings during adoption or placement in a family, except in certain situations that will be thoroughly studied by the guardianship authority and only if it is in the child’s best interests.

Additionally, the possibility of creating specialized foster families for children who require special care or living conditions is introduced, and state support for such families is expanded. In particular, foster families raising five or more children and specialized foster families will be provided with equipped housing during their operation. To care for children in specialized foster families and families formed by a single person, an assistant to foster parents may be involved.

A separate block of changes concerns support for foster parents and caregivers. They gain the right to a social service of temporary rest, which will be provided according to a procedure established by the Government.

The draft law also strengthens social guarantees for foster parents and caregivers. Currently, in a foster family, monetary support is received by one parent, so the single contribution to compulsory state social insurance is paid only for one person. In a family-type children’s home, monetary support may be divided between two caregivers, but then the contribution is calculated for each only from the respective part.

In contrast, the draft law provides for payment of such a contribution for each of the two foster parents or caregivers from the amount of monetary support calculated for the family as a whole, not from half of it. This directly affects the insurance record and future pension of both adults who actually provide care and upbringing of children.

The child must know the truth about themselves

The document stipulates that adoptive parents will be prohibited from hiding the fact of adoption from the child — the secret is kept only from third parties. This complies with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the right of every person to their own identity. After adoption, the family receives mandatory social support for the first year.

Personal responsibility of officials

If the court decides to remove a child from parents without depriving parental rights, the guardianship authority is obliged to submit a report within the court-set deadline on measures taken to eliminate the causes of danger to the child. If the report is not submitted on time without valid reasons, a personal fine is imposed on the head of the guardianship authority.

If officials' inaction leads to the child and family not receiving necessary assistance, the court is obliged to notify pre-trial investigation bodies. The reform requires real actions not only from parents but also from the system itself.

Among other changes — introduction of the institution of a trusted person whom parents can designate in advance in case of their death or incapacity; creation of a legislative framework for child protection centers modeled after "Barnahus"; mandatory registration of non-governmental children’s institutions in the Register of Social Service Providers.

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