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MINISTRY OF UKRAINE OF FAMILY, YOUTH AND SPORTState Social Service for Family, Children and Youth

Prevention of Newborn Abandonment through Development ofCommunity Services

Irina Dubinina, Deputy Director of State Social Service

for Family, Children and Youth


Background (2002): Deterioration of socio-demographic situation; Increasing number of single-parent families, mothers

under 18 years; Growing orphanhood, incl. social orphanhood; Unofficial data suggest that about 1,000 newborns

became orphans in the first minutes of their lives; Only health care bodies were concerned with protection

of children’s rights aged 0 to 3; Residential care was the prevailing form of placement of

children without parental care.


Main categories of women at risk of abandoning their newborns:

Women with newborns with severe disabilities; Incapacitated women (with mental problems); Alcohol and drug addicts; Women who demonstrate unpreparedness for motherhood; Internat graduates; Mothers under 18 years from antisocial families; Victims of rape and incest; Women without permanent employment, workers at unstable workplaces

(saleswomen at markets, etc.) who have to place temporarily their children in infant homes;

Unmarried pregnant women (if they are reproached by close people); Women with material and housing problems, poor women.


2002-2004 - Project «Creation of Reintegration Platform for Returning Children without Parental Care into Biological Families. Prevention of Early Social Orphanhood» (implemented by Representative Office of ‘Hope and Homes for Children’ in Ukraine in cooperation with State Committee of Ukraine for Family and Youth, Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and technical assistance by UNICEF Office in Ukraine).

Results: causes of newborn abandonment were studied; 3 experimental grounds were established at Kherson’s maternity hospital, infant

home and hospital’s child division, where new social technologies were tested; first mother and child centre in Ukraine was established; methodological manual with description of the first experience of prevention of

newborn abandonment was published; ‘Road to Family’ film was released and shown on different Ukrainian TV

channels; 18 trainings for 146 specialists on prevention of early social orphanhood were

held.


2002-2003 - Project «Child Care Reform «Mother and Child Support» (implemented by European Children’s Charitable Organisation (now Representative Office of ‘Every Child’ in Ukraine), Main Department for Family and Youth and Department of Health of Lvov Oblast State Administration).

Results: model of interaction of social and medical workers on prevention of newborn

abandonment at maternity hospitals and reintegration of babies from infant homes into biological families was developed and tested;

67% of mothers within the project changed intention to abandon their newborns;

14 children were reintegrated from infant homes into families.


Project results laid the foundation for further steps aimed at establishment of state system of early social orphanhood

prevention, while State Social Service for Family, Children and Youth led this initiative.

These steps included: Introduction of interagency mechanism of interaction of social and

medical workers; Setting up a network of consultative desks of centres of social

services for family, children and youth at maternity hospitals, antenatal clinics and infant homes;

Setting up a network of social mother and child centres; Developing methods of social work and training experts.


The goal of all technologies is

to help parents understand that their difficult life circumstances can change if they receive necessary support, taking into account especially that the time which children live without parents affect their psychological development and result in numerous deviations, and later it takes the whole life to correct them;

to convince parents that the widespread opinion that internats provide the best environment for children is a myth as compared to parental care.


In 2004-2008, the following important regulatory documents were approved:

Procedure of Interaction between Centres of Social Services for Family, Children and Youth and Health Care Bodies on Early Social Orphanhood Prevention (joint order by the Ministry of Health and Ministry for Family, Youth and Sport, in force since 2004);

Typical Regulation on Consultative Desks of Centres of Social Services for Family, Children and Youth at Maternity Homes, Antenatal Clinics and Infant Homes (order by the Ministry for Family, Youth and Sport, in force since 2004);

Typical Regulation on Social Mother and Child Centres (resolution by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, in force since 2005);

Typical Equipment Standards, Personnel Standards and Payment Terms, Nutrition Standards at Social Mother and Child Centres (relevant orders by the Ministry for Family, Youth and Sport came into effect in 2005-2006).


In accordance with Procedure of Interaction between Centres of Social Services for Family, Children and Youth and Health Care Bodies on Early Social Orphanhood Prevention, the functions were divided:

medical workers: Referral of intended abandonment of the newborn or abandonment proper on

the same day; Informing patients in difficult life circumstances about available social

services; Assistance in preparing necessary medical documents; social workers: Direct work with women who have announced their intention to abandon the

child or women who are preparing documents for abandonment; Providing social services and ensuring social supervision; If necessary, placement of the woman (in cooperation with the health care

body) in the social mother and child centre.


Main functions of consultative desks of centres of social services for family, children and youth at maternity hospitals, antenatal clinics and

infant homes:➢ Prevention of newborn abandonment;➢ Social and psychological support of pregnant women and women with

newborns, especially mothers under 18 years;➢ Social and psychological support of parents of newborns with disabilities;➢ Reintegration of abandoned newborns and children under 3 years into family

environment;➢ Development of responsible parenting skills.

Expansion of CDs (consultative desks) in Ukraine: 2005 – 374 CDs

2006 – 566 CDs 2007 – 579 CDs 2008 – 688 CDs (90% of maternity hospitals)


Number of newborn abandonments prevented bycentres of social services for family, children and youth

112

311277

506

332

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

2005 рік 2006 рік 2007 рік 2008 рік 9 міс яців2009 рік2009

(9 months)


Social mother and child centre is a facility for temporary residence of women in the 7th-9th months of pregnancy, as well as mothers with children from birth to 18 months in difficult life circumstances which hamper fulfilment of their maternal duties.

The network of social mother and child centres in Ukraine has been set up through state expenditures.


Number of persons at social mother and child centres

5

70

5

98

13

179

14

190

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

2006 р ік 2007 р ік 2008 р ік 2009 р ік

З аклади

Ос оби

Institutions

Persons


Results achieved by social mother and child centres

Year Number of women who

restored relations with their relatives

Number of women

provided with housing

Number of women

provided with basic documents

Number of women who

entered educational institutions

2006 34 13 45 8

2007 65 15 9 18

2008 103 40 9 20

2009 140 53 84 25


Results achieved by social mother and child centres (% of positive residence – 95)

Year Left Returned to husband

(with a child)

Returned to parents

(with a child)

Began independent life (with a

child)

Married (with a child)

2006 32 11 9 12

2007 58 11 10 28 4

2008 74 16 18 23 13

2009 98 25 13 42 14


Number of children abandoned at maternity hospitals (data by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine)

1246998

1549

1027

909 2004 рік

2005 рік

2006 рік

2007 рік

2008 рік

МИНИСТЕРСТВО УКРАИНЫ ПО ДЕЛАМ СЕМЬИ, МОЛОДЕЖИ И СПОРТАГосударственная социальная служба для семьи, детей и молодежи

Results of cooperation of State Social Service for Family, Children and Youth with international and non-governmental organisations:

Representative Office of ‘Hope and Homes for Children’ in Ukraine with technical assistance by UNICEF:

● Training Programmes for Specialists of Social Mother and Child Centres and Specialists of Consultative Desks of Centres of Social Services for Family, Children and Youth at Maternity Hospitals, Antenatal Clinics and Infant Homes have been developed;

● As the result of implementation of the Programmes, 19 regional trainers on early child abandonment have been prepared;

● 5 trainings for 29 specialists of social mother and child centres and 58 specialists of consultative desks have been held;

● Methodological guide ‘De-Institutionalising and Transforming Children’s Services’ has been prepared and published;

● Criteria of monitoring and evaluation of consultative desks are developed;● Standards of social services provided by social mother and child centres are

developed;● Social mother and child centre has been opened in Kiev Oblast; technical and

methodological support has been provided to all social mother and child centres.

МИНИСТЕРСТВО УКРАИНЫ ПО ДЕЛАМ СЕМЬИ, МОЛОДЕЖИ И СПОРТАГосударственная социальная служба для семьи, детей и молодежи

Representative Office of ‘Doctors of the World - USA’ in Ukraine:● Training module for specialists of centres of social services for family, children

and youth on work with HIV-infected women who have announced intention to abandon their newborn;

● Within this module, a training has been held for 40 specialists of centres of social services for family, children and youth and social mother and child centres;

● 7 types of thematic posters on prevention of abandonment of children born by HIV-infected mothers and de-stigmatisation of HIV-affected children have been prepared, published and distributed;

● Educational film ‘MAMA+: Model of Prevention of Abandonment of Children Born by HIV-Positive Mothers’ has been released.

Representative Office of ‘Every Child’ in Ukraine:● Social mother and child centre has been opened in Chernigov Oblast;● Website for all social mother and child centres has been opened with the goal

of their methodological support.


Conclusions: Social and psychological support of women who intend to abandon

their newborns is the main component of abandonment prevention; Successful introduction of the state model of prevention of early

social orphanhood in Ukraine has been made possible due to cooperation with non-governmental and international organisations, as well as the interagency mechanism;

Prevention of early social orphanhood is an important component of responsible parenting, therefore mandatory measures include prevention of family troubles, preparation of teenagers and youth for family life, responsible parenting, etc.

More efficient work aimed at prevention of early child abandonment in Ukraine requires inclusion of social workers in village and town councils, needs assessment as the main mechanism of problem detection, adoption of standards of social services, and development of the market of social services.


THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

Our website: www.dcssm.gov.ua

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