The Government of Ukraine has introduced a new type of support for children returning to the government-controlled territory after deportation, forced displacement or from the temporarily occupied territories. From now on, each such child will receive a one-off allowance of UAH 50,000. The decision was made on the recommendation of the Ministry of Social Policy and aims to ensure a comfortable reintegration of the child into Ukrainian society.
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The child’s legal representative – a parent or guardian – must apply to the State Service of Ukraine for Children to receive the payment. As the Ministry of Social Policy emphasises, this assistance is not taken into account when calculating the average monthly family income for other types of social support or housing subsidies.
The payment is only part of a comprehensive strategy to support children who have survived deportation or forced displacement. An individual return and reintegration plan is drawn up for each child, which includes not only safe return, but also systemic support in the form of social, psychological, medical, rehabilitation and legal services. If a child is left without parents, he or she is placed in a family-based care.
The Ministry of Social Policy emphasises that such support is flexible and long-term, depending on the needs of the individual child and his or her family. The Action Plan covers short-, medium- and long-term assistance to ensure that returning home is not only physical, but also emotionally and socially safe.
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