There is a shortage of foster families in Mykolaiv: at least 15 are needed, but there are only four

There is a shortage of foster families in Mykolaiv. Illustrative photo from the NikVesti archive

In Mykolaiv, at least 14–15 foster families need to be established to fully meet the community’s needs. Currently, there are only four, and this is insufficient to adequately protect children who find themselves in difficult life circumstances.

This was discussed during a meeting of the parliamentary committee on human rights, children, family, law and transparency on 21 April, NikVesti reports.

Yuliia Kravchenko, Head of the Children’s Services Department at Mykolaiv City Council, explained that changes to legislation on the protection of children’s rights are being proposed at the national level. At the same time, these initiatives envisage expanding the powers of local authorities without additional financial support.

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In particular, the changes concern the powers of the mayor. In the absence of foster families in the community or where there are insufficient numbers of them, it is the mayor who must perform the duties of a foster carer.

It should be noted that a foster family is a temporary arrangement for a child who finds themselves in difficult life circumstances. In such a family, the child receives care, upbringing and support until their biological family overcomes their difficulties or until another permanent arrangement is found.

«If there is a shortage of foster families in our community, and there really is a shortage. And, unfortunately, we have no waiting list of such people. Roughly speaking, we have a child who has been removed from their parents due to failure to fulfil parental responsibilities; we bring them to the mayor’s office, and the mayor must then provide foster care,» explained Yuliia Kravchenko.

According to her, this provision is intended to encourage communities to be more active in establishing foster families. However, under current conditions, this is difficult to implement.

«It is designed to force communities to create them (foster families, — note). And 75% of our communities do not have foster families. According to our calculations, we currently need to establish 14–15 foster families to meet the city’s needs. We currently have only four. Only one candidate out of the three who attempted to submit applications has confirmed their decision and is currently awaiting training,» she added.

Furthermore, the reforms provide for round-the-clock operation of child welfare services and their integration into the «112» emergency response system. At the same time, according to the official, the services are already facing staffing issues due to the heavy workload.

«The plan is for child welfare services to operate round the clock and be connected to the «112» emergency response system. How many staff members are needed, and what should their salaries be, for them to agree to work under such conditions? At present, there is a real problem with staff turnover, because the psychological, emotional and physical strain, as well as the risk to life and health faced by child welfare service staff, is forcing them to leave their jobs,» she noted.

Separately, the issue of establishing a Family and Children’s Support Centre in Mykolaiv was raised, which would aim to prevent crisis situations within families. However, due to restrictions linked to the state of war and the city’s location near the front line, it is currently impossible to implement such an initiative.

The chair of the committee, Olena Kiseliova, emphasised that the proposed changes require further refinement to take into account the realities of frontline communities.

«Such an initiative, particularly at this time of war for communities such as Mykolaiv, cannot be feasible to implement. Alternatively, it would require the state to take other measures, including funding specific institutions, as was previously the case,» she stressed.

Following the meeting, councillors plan to draft an appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers, the relevant ministry and the Verkhovna Rada, proposing that the community’s comments be taken into account.

It was previously reported that in the Mykolaiv region in 2025, following lawsuits by child welfare authorities, 142 parents were deprived of their parental rights regarding 193 children.

It should be noted that there are foster families in 13 communities in the Mykolaiv region who help children in difficult life circumstances. Over the past year, 55% of children returned to their biological parents after foster care.

As a reminder, in 2025, the Club of Foster Carers and Assistants of the Mykolaiv region was established.

Read also the article by NikVesti: «A child has the right to a family: how adoption and family-based care are being developed in Mykolaiv».