Guardians, foster parents, or family-type orphanages: who can care for children without parental care

In Ukraine, there are several forms of care for orphans and children deprived of parental care. The most common are family-based forms, where a child goes not to an orphanage, but to a family. UNN will tell you in simple terms who guardians, custodians, and foster parents are and what you should know about a child's adaptation in a new family.

Types of child placement in a family

Adoption is a priority form of placement, under which a child officially becomes part of a family and receives the same rights as biological children. This is the most stable option, involving long-term responsibility, full inclusion of the child in family life, and their upbringing until adulthood. Adoption is possible provided that the child has the appropriate legal status and there are no obstacles to their placement in a family.

Guardians and custodians are people who take a child into their family but do not legally become their parents. Guardianship is established over children under 14 years of age, and custody over children from 14 to 18 years of age. Most often, relatives become guardians. They are the child's legal representatives, but their status as an orphan or a child without parental care is retained.

A foster family is a family that voluntarily takes one to four children for upbringing. Foster parents also do not acquire parental rights, but they raise the child and represent their interests.

A family-type children's home (FTCH) is a separate family that takes at least five children for upbringing. At the same time, the total number of children in the family, including biological children, cannot exceed ten. Parents in such a family are called parent-educators.

In all these cases, the child retains their status, and the placement itself is temporary, in particular, until they return to their biological family or are adopted, or reach adulthood.

Separately, the legislation distinguishes patronage over a child. It does not belong to the main forms of placement, but it also involves the child living in a family.

What is needed to adopt a child

Ukrainian legislation establishes clear requirements for persons wishing to take guardianship over a child. A guardian can be an adult, legally capable person who:

• is in good health;

• has no criminal record for crimes against life, health, and sexual freedom;

• has stable living conditions;

• can provide the child with proper upbringing and development.

To take a child into a family, candidates must:

• register as potential adopters, guardians, foster parents, or parent-educators;

• undergo special training (except for relative-guardians);

• submit a package of documents to the Children's Services.

In addition, it is important that decisions on child placement are made by different bodies. For example, guardianship or custody by local authorities, a foster family or FTCH by the district administration or executive committee, while adoption by a court.

What documents are needed for child guardianship

The basic list includes the following documents for child guardianship:

passport and identification code of the guardian candidate;

• child's birth certificate;

• certificate of family composition;

• income certificate;

• medical certificate of health status;

• certificate of no criminal record;

• application for guardianship over a child.

However, in conditions of martial law, additional documents are required.

During the war, the following may be additionally required:

• IDP certificate;

• documents on the child's evacuation;

• decisions or acts of military administrations;

• confirmation of the child's actual place of residence.

It is important that in each specific case, the list of documents may differ.

All family forms of placement are prioritized over orphanages. A child can only be sent to an institution if a family cannot be found. Each form of guardianship has its own characteristics, but the common goal is one - to ensure the child's upbringing in a family environment.

What foster parents should know or how to properly interact with an adopted child during the adaptation period

A child entering a new family is a complex emotional process, accompanied not only by hope but also by worries. Psychologist, psychotherapist Olena Shershnyova explains that a child's normal adaptation depends on many factors, and even in the best conditions, this path is not easy.

According to the expert, a change of family is always perceived by the child as a loss. This can cause conflicting emotions and affect behavior. At the same time, such reactions are natural and do not indicate a child's problematic nature.

A change of family is always experienced by a child as a loss. Even if the new family is objectively better, safer, it is still a loss for the child. And appropriate emotions accompany this loss. This includes fear, anxiety, distrust, a feeling of abandonment, even guilt, because children often look for the reasons for everything that happens in themselves.

Adaptation in different forms of family upbringing may differ. In a foster family, a child receives more individual attention, while in a family-type children's home, they become part of a larger community. This affects the speed and complexity of adaptation.

In a foster family, there is more individual attention, so adaptation is softer and faster. And in a FTCH, the child enters a larger system. There is competition for attention, the rules are more structured, and the adaptation process can be longer. Of course, with proper organization of this process, there can also be its own resource, such as a sense of community, mutual support.

Among the main difficulties children face, the psychologist highlights distrust and fear of repeated abandonment. Also, according to her, changes in behavior are possible, which are important to interpret correctly. Olena Shershnyova emphasizes that this is a reaction to stress, not "bad behavior."

Most often, it is distrust and checking whether they will be abandoned again. Difficulties with attachment, regression in behavior may occur. There may be aggression, withdrawal, difficulties with rules, boundaries. And it is important not to attribute all this to bad behavior, but to see it as a reaction to traumatic experience and a stressful situation.

In addition, building trust with a child also requires time and stability, says the specialist, and the predictability of adult actions and emotional support are important, because this is what forms a sense of security.

To build trusting relationships, time is needed, and it is built not with words, but with stability. The key is predictability: what was promised was done. The adult must be emotionally stable, able to accept the child's feelings without judgment, and at the same time, establish clear, adequate boundaries.

Separately, the expert draws attention to typical adult mistakes.

First, it's the expectation of quick love and gratitude. Second, ignoring the child's past. Third, excessive rigidity or permissiveness. Also a mistake is to take the child's behavior personally. And another one is the lack of support for adults, because they also need resources to help the child adapt.