The Cabinet of Ministers defined how the new State Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities will operate: when the money must be returned

On July 1, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved Resolution No. 867 establishing the procedure for using the funds of the State Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities. The document defines the fund's operating mechanism, sources of funding, recipients, directions of fund usage, and distribution procedures.

The State Fund is part of the special fund of the state budget and was created within the reform to support the employment of persons with disabilities. At the same time, the resolution does not introduce new social payments but sets rules for the use of the fund's money and state control over it.

The fund will be replenished from employers' contributions to support the employment of persons with disabilities, administrative and economic sanctions for failure to meet workplace quotas, fines and penalties for violations of payment procedures, as well as charitable and other legally permitted receipts. These funds will be used only within actual receipts and for their intended purpose.

What the fund's money will be used for

The government also defined the mechanism for using the State Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities. The document establishes that the special fund's money will be directed to implementing social protection programs, supporting employment, and the employment of persons with disabilities.

The Ministry of Social Policy is designated as the main budget funds administrator, while lower-level administrators include the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities and its territorial branches. The Fund itself is the responsible executor of the relevant budget program.

Recipients of funding from the state fund may include employers, particularly enterprises for labor integration of persons with disabilities and sheltered employment enterprises, educational institutions, entities engaged in informal education, as well as social service providers.

The procedure specifies that funds may be used in several directions. In particular, they are allocated for the organizational and technical support of the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities and its territorial branches to monitor the receipt of administrative and economic sanctions and penalties and to cover court costs.

Funding is provided for implementing measures to promote the employment of persons with disabilities as defined by the Law of Ukraine "On Employment of the Population," as well as for paying for training and retraining of persons with disabilities in educational institutions.

Additionally, the state fund's money may be used to finance social protection and employment programs and activities for persons with disabilities, including:

• providing employers with repayable and non-repayable financial assistance, loans, and subsidies;
• compensating employers' expenses for reasonable accommodations and/or subsidies for their implementation;
• payments to employers when employing a person with a disability who is not registered as unemployed at the employment center;
• purchasing social services of personal assistants, support during employment and work, as well as social and labor adaptation services;
• paying for professional training, retraining, and skill upgrading of persons with disabilities who are not registered as unemployed;
• paying for cybersecurity training for persons with disabilities of groups I and II within an experimental project approved by a separate Cabinet of Ministers resolution.

At the same time, the procedure stipulates that such measures will be financed only if they are not covered by the funds of the Compulsory State Social Insurance Fund for Unemployment. For this purpose, electronic information interaction is provided between the Unified Social Sphere Information System and the information-analytical systems of the State Employment Service, mainly through the "Trembita" system. If technical interaction is impossible, information will be obtained through other protected channels or official requests.

The distribution of funds among lower-level administrators will be carried out by the Ministry of Social Policy based on proposals from the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities, taking into account actual receipts to the state fund. After that, funds will be transferred to recipients' accounts opened in Treasury bodies or banks.

The document also defines general rules for using budget funds. Procurement of goods, works, and services will be carried out in accordance with public procurement legislation, accounting and treasury servicing in the prescribed manner, and control over the targeted and efficient use of funds, as well as submission of financial and budget reports, will be carried out according to budget legislation requirements.

Strengthening control over the use of funds

The resolution also introduces control over the use of budget funds.

Recipients of funding must regularly report on the use of funds, and the National Social Service will conduct inspections of their targeted use. In addition, the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities will monitor the use of funds by social service providers and report quarterly to the Ministry of Social Policy.

Thus, the resolution defines the purposes for which the State Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities' funds may be used and establishes the procedure for controlling their targeted use. Funding will be directed to social protection programs, employment, professional training, and employment of persons with disabilities, as well as support for employers and social services.

How funds used improperly will be returned

As a separate annex to the resolution, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Procedure for Returning Funds of the State Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities Used Improperly. The document defines the mechanism for returning funds in case of violation of established rules.

The procedure applies to all recipients of state fund money, including employers, enterprises and entrepreneurs involved in labor integration of persons with disabilities, sheltered employment enterprises, educational institutions, informal education entities, and social service providers.

Funds used for purposes not stipulated by the contract or other document on their provision, as well as in cases where misuse is established based on inspections by the National Social Service or its territorial bodies, are subject to return.

Cases are also defined when the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities or its territorial branches must return funds if they were used improperly.

If signs of violation are detected, the Fund or its territorial branch must notify the National Social Service within five working days, which will conduct an inspection no later than 15 working days. If misuse is confirmed, within three working days after signing the inspection report, a demand for fund return is sent to the recipient. The recipient must return the funds within 10 working days from the date of receiving the demand.

If this demand is not fulfilled, the National Social Service or its territorial body will apply to the court for forced recovery of funds, which will then be credited to the account of the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities or its territorial branch.

Additionally, the National Social Service will raise the issue of holding responsible officials accountable. At the same time, the employer has the right to appeal the demand for fund return administratively or judicially, as well as to challenge the inspection report according to the law. To control compliance with demands, the National Social Service will keep records in the Unified Social Sphere Information System, or if technical capability is absent, in paper or other electronic form.

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