Most of the children in Ukraine’s residential institutions are not orphans. Whilst they may be placed temporarily outside Ukraine, it is not appropriate for them to be adopted, as they should be guaranteed the opportunity to be safely reunited with their families whenever possible. A focus on adoption might lead children to be forever separated from their families and to be victim of unscrupulous actors making money from the inappropriate international adoption of children.
What many children evacuated from institutions in Ukraine need is temporary care which might implement services for the safeguard of children to address gender-based violence, family tracking and reunion mechanisms.
It is also essential to promote foster family care in receiving countries, for example by planning to place children in family environments with priority for Ukrainian or mixed foster family. Because most of the children from Ukrainian institutions have disabilities, it is important that child protection systems recruit and support foster families who can address all the children’s needs and rights.
If you are interested in fostering Ukrainian refugee children, you should contact your country’s child protection department or your local authority to apply. In some countries, foster care associations may also have relevant information.
