Adoption Day: why thousands of Ukrainian teenagers are still waiting for a family
Kyiv • UNN
In Ukraine, over 14,000 children are waiting for adoption, most of them teenagers. Petro Dobromilskyi, head of the State Service for Children's Affairs, explained why this category of children is the least sought after.
On September 17, Ukraine celebrates Children's Adoption Day. Currently, more than 14,000 children in Ukraine remain without a permanent family, most of them teenagers. UNN spoke with Petro Dobromilskyi, head of the State Service for Children's Affairs, who explained why this category is the least sought after among adoption candidates.
Currently, a total of over 14,000 children are still registered and waiting for their families.
Currently, the task of finding a permanent family for everyone is acutely important for Ukraine. As Dobromilskyi emphasizes, the state strategy for 2024–2028 defines the goal as "increasing the number of children raised in a family environment and developing adoption as one of the key ways to realize a child's right to a family." However, statistics show that this is where the biggest imbalance arises.
Among the 14,000 children waiting for adoption, 70% are teenagers aged 10 to 18, and over 10,000 have siblings whom it is important to keep together. At the same time, among more than two thousand families registered as candidates, most are ready to accept children from birth to 10 years old. Only about 280 families are ready to adopt children aged 10 and older.
Such an imbalance between family expectations and realities is a kind of challenge that society needs to overcome by forming a culture of adopting older children and families with siblings.
Teenagers no less need family love and support, especially during the difficult period of growing up.