Good news!!! The electronic version of the Guide for prospective parents “Steps to a child”, including the comments of experts who attended the online presentation on 31 March 2023, has been uploaded to the website of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation!

It can be downloaded at the link: STEPS TO A CHILD (pdf)

CREATION: FROM IDEA TO IMPLEMENTATION

It is a reminder that the Guide has been produced in response to numerous requests from users of the program Rinat Akhmetov for Children. No to Orphanhood!, seeking clarifications on the process of child adoption, especially in the context of the martial law.

That is why in January 2023, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation decided to produce an informative and user-friendly guide for prospective parents “Steps to a child”, which gives step-by-step explanations to each type of child adoption.

On 31 March 2023, a presentation was held with the participation of subject-matter experts link to the Presentation. After the presentation, the participants had the opportunity to make their suggestions on the content of the Guide. Now, in the electronic format, the Guide is structured taking into account the proposals from the participants of the presentation.

 

WHAT ARE THE “STEPS TO A CHILD”?

STEPS TO A CHILD (PDF) is a small and user-friendly guide to child adoption for a family. It can be useful for families who dream of adopting a child, and for experts who take efforts towards eliminating orphanhood.

The Guide contains some basic information on placement of a child in ward, adoption, foster care, or in a family-type children’s home.

In the Guide, every type of childcare (adoption/guardianship/foster family/family-type children’s home) has the following components:

 

1. General information about the type of childcare.

2. Implementation steps.

3. List of required documents.

4. Clarification of certain details in the context of the martial law.

5. Cancellation or termination of adoption/guardianship/adoptive or foster parenthood.

6. QR codes for electronic registration on Diia portal.

7. QR codes for the main pieces of legislation concerning all the aspects of a child’s placement in a family.

8. Telephone directory of regional children’s services.

BENEFITS OF THE GUIDE FOR PROSPECTIVE PARENTS:

1. A pocket-size guide with advice on each of the steps to having a child.

2. Prospective parents can learn to distinguish between different types of child adoption. The Guide can help them shape their own opinion.

3. It provides an opportunity for prospective parents to assess their strength/abilities.

4. It will help to avoid unnecessary expectations and disappointments.

5. The Guide will help the prospective parents set themselves up for a long-term process.

6. It will be of help when undergoing a training course.

BENEFITS OF THE GUIDE FOR CHILDREN’S SERVICES

1. Additional assistance for holding initial consultations with prospective parents.

2. The possibility to quickly find a link to the registration as candidates for becoming adoptive parents/foster parents on Diia – using the QR codes from the Guide.

3. The possibility to quickly find links to the main pieces of legislation on each type of child care – using the QR codes from the Guide.

BENEFITS OF THE GUIDE FOR SOCIAL SERVICE CENTRES

1. The possibility to use the Guide as a brief memo.

2. The possibility to use the Guide as a mini-handbook.

3. The possibility to speed up the search for the main pieces of legislation on each type of child care and the steps of the child’s placement in a family.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Guide was produced using the materials published on the “No to Orphanhood” portal over the past year. In addition, the program Rinat Akhmetov for Children. No to Orphanhood! is grateful to the experts who helped in the production of the Guide:

Svitlana Yakimelina (head of Zakarpattia Regional Children’s Service),

Lyubov Loriashvili (psychologist and trainer at the Kyiv city center of social services),

Valentyna Berezina (Head of the Department of Adoption and Family-based Forms of Child Raising at the Kyiv City Office for Children’s Services).

We are grateful to every expert for any possible help!

PRINTED VERSION OF THE GUIDE “STEPS TO A CHILD”

In the near future, 600 printed copies of the Guide will be distributed to the regional offices for children’s services and centres of social services.

We are sure that the Guide STEPS TO A CHILD (PDF) will be useful for both prospective parents and specialists of social services working towards the elimination of orphanhood.