Children’s question: what will happen to boarding schools in Ukraine?
Last year, the phrase that there will be no boarding schools in Ukraine soon caused real concern and even outrage. "What kind of populism is this?", "Where will all these poor children go?", "And what to do with the people who worked there?". There are a lot of questions. Some of them were answered by Mykola Kuleba, the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, and Ruslan Kolbasa, Director of the Department for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Adoption of the Ministry of Social Policy.
The system today.
A boarding school is an institution with round-the-clock stay of children, created for the purpose of their living, development, upbringing, education, professional orientation, preparation for independent living.
Currently, there are a total of 10 types of boarding schools of different subordination in Ukraine. The child support system operates in parallel. We are talking about foster families who are ready to give temporary shelter to a child so that he or she does not end up in a boarding school, and the state allocates funds for the temporary maintenance of children in the family. In order to be entitled to this right, family members must undergo appropriate training.
How many orphans are there in the country and who takes care of them ? Today, 71,000 children have the status of orphans. Most children are raised in foster care. Mostly relatives and friends. 14,000 children are in foster families, family-type orphanages. And 6,000 orphans are brought up in boarding schools. WITH
how much are boarding schools ?
In 2016, UAH 7 billion was allocated from the State Budget for the education of 106,000 children in boarding schools. Depending on the type of boarding school and its subordination, the state allocates from 8 to 25 thousand hryvnias per month per child.
The distribution of funds also depends on the number of children. As cynical as it may sound, the funds allocated from the budget are one of the reasons why every boarding school strives to be filled to capacity. Today there are 751 boarding schools in Ukraine. Of the 106,000 children in boarding schools, only 6,000 are orphans and 100,000 have parents. Often children are sent to boarding schools, citing difficult life circumstances (LIF).
I k was and how did it happen ?
Ruslan Kolbasa, Director of the Department for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Adoption at the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, said in an interview with the Voice of Children : . They envisage that now all children whose parents want to send them because of their family’s stay in the SJO can get to the boarding school only through the system of protection of children’s rights.
Prior to that, parents wrote such statements, and local authorities did not know how to help them, and filled boarding schools. It is necessary to provide a methodology according to which local communities will act as soon as possible. People need to be taught to analyze both the institutions themselves and the circumstances in which the child and family find themselves. Teach how to leave a child with a biological family or return it there, or really grant orphan status. In this case, the child should no longer be placed in an institution, but in a family-type orphanage (DBST) or a foster family (PS), which, respectively, should be created.
What instead of boarding schools?
Mykola Kuleba explains: “If we talk about 6,000 orphans, this year (at the initiative of the President of Ukraine) an additional UAH 277 million was allocated. from the budget for the construction of family-type orphanages. These are families that have adopted 5 to 10 children. It should be noted that out of three thousand such houses, only 150 were built by the state. All others - charitable organizations, churches, etc. Therefore, in order to equalize it, so that the state really takes care of it properly, additional funds were allocated. "
How to deal with the seriously ill?
The main argument of the management of boarding schools where seriously ill children are kept: "Who, if not us?". As a child gets older, it becomes very difficult for parents to lift, move, etc.… They actually have to be chained to the child without being able to work. That’s why parents send their children to boarding schools. However, if you take a calculator in hand and make calculations on the example of one of the boarding schools, then, according to Mykola Kuleba, it turns out that: hryvnias per month ". And this is a boarding school in the countryside. In what village can parents spend such a sum on a child? ”
This money can be used to hire a social worker to take care of the child, and the same mother will be able to work quietly and earn a living. In this case, the child will live at home, not in a boarding school.
What share of money "reaches" the child?
Mykola Kuleba says that the problem is that the state does not finance services, but boarding schools: “We are going to a group. 8 seriously ill, bedridden children and a nanny of retirement age, who, again, can not lift, carry, etc. According to the calculations we make when we monitor these institutions, 70% of the staff is technical. The one who maintains the buildings, cooks, etc. And only 15% remains for the child. 1 UAH per day - for treatment, 3 UAH. per day - for clothes and 23 UAH. per day - for food.
Action plan.
This year, together with the Ministry of Social Policy, tools for evaluating boarding schools and social services are being developed. "To close boarding schools, you first need to create something. Our strategy and plan is to create services to support families and children so that the child is not forced to live in a boarding school, ”said the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights.
It is no coincidence that society is outraged by the question "What will happen to children with disabilities?" and "What will happen to orphans?"
Who will decide now?
In connection with the process of decentralization, the local community will decide what needs to be helped by one or another family. Knowing local people, local governments will need to determine what services are needed, where they are needed, and it is they who will create and provide these services.
The main tasks of the communities will be the timely identification of families in which children are in danger and the provision of support to these families and the necessary assistance.
What about funding?
According to Mykola Kuleba, funding issues will be addressed in the reform process and will take into account to whom and what functions will be delegated. The state allocates almost a billion hryvnias annually to support children in foster families. This is almost 14 thousand children. The Presidential Commissioner assures that not all services will fall on the shoulders of the community. Those that require significant financial costs (such as caring for children with disabilities) will be allocated centrally.
International experience and assistance.
In neighboring countries, the practice of reducing boarding schools is quite active. In Romania and Moldova, the number of children in boarding schools has decreased by 80% (in Romania, out of 100,000 children, only 20,000 are now in boarding schools). The same processes are taking place in Poland. In Bulgaria, a year and a half ago, the President personally announced that the last orphanage for children with disabilities had been closed. The lion’s share of the funds, thanks to which this reform was carried out in these post-Soviet countries, belongs to the EU (70-80%). They were allocated for the creation of alternative care, rehabilitation centers, etc.
What about the staff? Will everyone be fired?
Mykola Kuleba claims that there are no plans to dismiss the boarding school staff. People will be retrained, they will be offered new jobs in the education system. "Teacher assistants in schools, kindergartens, inclusion, day care, rehabilitation services. They could work in these centers. But they have to see it differently. However, if they are not shown this experience, they will not understand what they want from them. "
What is the National Children’s Council?
It is a body that will take care of the interests of children during the implementation of reforms. "We need a child’s voice in this reform, so today we are looking for children in all regions who are ready to fight for the lives of those children who are forced to live in boarding schools today."
Adoption.
Currently, 1,800 Ukrainian families are waiting in line for adoption. Some of them are more than three years old. They complain that the procedure is too complicated and understandable. However, it should be noted that most of these families want to adopt a small (up to 3-4 years, preferably a baby), healthy child, and no more than 200 such children
each year . Both courses have been completed.
The system today.
A boarding school is an institution with round-the-clock stay of children, created for the purpose of their living, development, upbringing, education, professional orientation, preparation for independent living.
Currently, there are a total of 10 types of boarding schools of different subordination in Ukraine. The child support system operates in parallel. We are talking about foster families who are ready to give temporary shelter to a child so that he or she does not end up in a boarding school, and the state allocates funds for the temporary maintenance of children in the family. In order to be entitled to this right, family members must undergo appropriate training.
How many orphans are there in the country and who takes care of them ? Today, 71,000 children have the status of orphans. Most children are raised in foster care. Mostly relatives and friends. 14,000 children are in foster families, family-type orphanages. And 6,000 orphans are brought up in boarding schools. WITH
how much are boarding schools ?
In 2016, UAH 7 billion was allocated from the State Budget for the education of 106,000 children in boarding schools. Depending on the type of boarding school and its subordination, the state allocates from 8 to 25 thousand hryvnias per month per child.
The distribution of funds also depends on the number of children. As cynical as it may sound, the funds allocated from the budget are one of the reasons why every boarding school strives to be filled to capacity. Today there are 751 boarding schools in Ukraine. Of the 106,000 children in boarding schools, only 6,000 are orphans and 100,000 have parents. Often children are sent to boarding schools, citing difficult life circumstances (LIF).
I k was and how did it happen ?
Ruslan Kolbasa, Director of the Department for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Adoption at the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, said in an interview with the Voice of Children : . They envisage that now all children whose parents want to send them because of their family’s stay in the SJO can get to the boarding school only through the system of protection of children’s rights.
Prior to that, parents wrote such statements, and local authorities did not know how to help them, and filled boarding schools. It is necessary to provide a methodology according to which local communities will act as soon as possible. People need to be taught to analyze both the institutions themselves and the circumstances in which the child and family find themselves. Teach how to leave a child with a biological family or return it there, or really grant orphan status. In this case, the child should no longer be placed in an institution, but in a family-type orphanage (DBST) or a foster family (PS), which, respectively, should be created.
What instead of boarding schools?
Mykola Kuleba explains: “If we talk about 6,000 orphans, this year (at the initiative of the President of Ukraine) an additional UAH 277 million was allocated. from the budget for the construction of family-type orphanages. These are families that have adopted 5 to 10 children. It should be noted that out of three thousand such houses, only 150 were built by the state. All others - charitable organizations, churches, etc. Therefore, in order to equalize it, so that the state really takes care of it properly, additional funds were allocated. "
How to deal with the seriously ill?
The main argument of the management of boarding schools where seriously ill children are kept: "Who, if not us?". As a child gets older, it becomes very difficult for parents to lift, move, etc.… They actually have to be chained to the child without being able to work. That’s why parents send their children to boarding schools. However, if you take a calculator in hand and make calculations on the example of one of the boarding schools, then, according to Mykola Kuleba, it turns out that: hryvnias per month ". And this is a boarding school in the countryside. In what village can parents spend such a sum on a child? ”
This money can be used to hire a social worker to take care of the child, and the same mother will be able to work quietly and earn a living. In this case, the child will live at home, not in a boarding school.
What share of money "reaches" the child?
Mykola Kuleba says that the problem is that the state does not finance services, but boarding schools: “We are going to a group. 8 seriously ill, bedridden children and a nanny of retirement age, who, again, can not lift, carry, etc. According to the calculations we make when we monitor these institutions, 70% of the staff is technical. The one who maintains the buildings, cooks, etc. And only 15% remains for the child. 1 UAH per day - for treatment, 3 UAH. per day - for clothes and 23 UAH. per day - for food.
Action plan.
This year, together with the Ministry of Social Policy, tools for evaluating boarding schools and social services are being developed. "To close boarding schools, you first need to create something. Our strategy and plan is to create services to support families and children so that the child is not forced to live in a boarding school, ”said the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights.
It is no coincidence that society is outraged by the question "What will happen to children with disabilities?" and "What will happen to orphans?"
Who will decide now?
In connection with the process of decentralization, the local community will decide what needs to be helped by one or another family. Knowing local people, local governments will need to determine what services are needed, where they are needed, and it is they who will create and provide these services.
The main tasks of the communities will be the timely identification of families in which children are in danger and the provision of support to these families and the necessary assistance.
What about funding?
According to Mykola Kuleba, funding issues will be addressed in the reform process and will take into account to whom and what functions will be delegated. The state allocates almost a billion hryvnias annually to support children in foster families. This is almost 14 thousand children. The Presidential Commissioner assures that not all services will fall on the shoulders of the community. Those that require significant financial costs (such as caring for children with disabilities) will be allocated centrally.
International experience and assistance.
In neighboring countries, the practice of reducing boarding schools is quite active. In Romania and Moldova, the number of children in boarding schools has decreased by 80% (in Romania, out of 100,000 children, only 20,000 are now in boarding schools). The same processes are taking place in Poland. In Bulgaria, a year and a half ago, the President personally announced that the last orphanage for children with disabilities had been closed. The lion’s share of the funds, thanks to which this reform was carried out in these post-Soviet countries, belongs to the EU (70-80%). They were allocated for the creation of alternative care, rehabilitation centers, etc.
What about the staff? Will everyone be fired?
Mykola Kuleba claims that there are no plans to dismiss the boarding school staff. People will be retrained, they will be offered new jobs in the education system. "Teacher assistants in schools, kindergartens, inclusion, day care, rehabilitation services. They could work in these centers. But they have to see it differently. However, if they are not shown this experience, they will not understand what they want from them. "
What is the National Children’s Council?
It is a body that will take care of the interests of children during the implementation of reforms. "We need a child’s voice in this reform, so today we are looking for children in all regions who are ready to fight for the lives of those children who are forced to live in boarding schools today."
Adoption.
Currently, 1,800 Ukrainian families are waiting in line for adoption. Some of them are more than three years old. They complain that the procedure is too complicated and understandable. However, it should be noted that most of these families want to adopt a small (up to 3-4 years, preferably a baby), healthy child, and no more than 200 such children
each year . Both courses have been completed.