Children who have experienced violence are returned to dangerous families: a failure of the protection system has been revealed in Ukraine
The child protection system in Ukraine requires a deep reboot and clearer interaction between all involved structures — this is the conclusion reached by the parliamentary committee after analyzing the situation in this area. Particular emphasis was placed on the fact that the current model of social support and child protection does not provide an adequate level of safety, and some decisions are vulnerable due to weak control and blurred zones of responsibility.
Increase in cases of violence against children and systemic problems
The Temporary Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada on investigating possible violations of children's rights during the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of child rights protection stated a significant imbalance in the current child protection system in Ukraine and the urgent need to strengthen interagency coordination.
During the review of materials regarding the state of the child protection sphere, about 60 cases of violence against children were recorded over four months of the current year, exceeding the figures for the same period last year. Among the key problems named were insufficient interaction between law enforcement agencies and specialized social services, as well as the consequences of the deinstitutionalization reform.
Problems of coordination between child protection services
Special attention is drawn to problematic aspects of the social services system functioning, particularly due to the involvement of private entities. It is noted that some of these providers operate under conditions of limited accountability and insufficient state control, complicating the assessment of their effectiveness.
Risks in the field of social support for children
Among the main indicators in the field are the number of children placed in family-based care, as well as children who have left institutional facilities. At the same time, attention is drawn to the risks of children being returned again to families where cases of violence were previously recorded.
The government is called to reform the protection system
Based on the analysis, the commission called on the government to strengthen coordination between responsible bodies, review the current child protection strategy, and introduce effective control mechanisms over the activities of private entities providing social services.
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