Simplified Procedure for Submitting Initial Adoption Requests Became Operational in Ukraine Today

Over 17,000 children in Ukraine need to be adopted. Unfortunately, the number of potential parents is several times as low. Therefore, the Ministry of Social Policy, together with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and supported by the Advisor and Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Rights of Children and Children Rehabilitation, implemented a project of a simplified procedure for the people willing to adopt a child using the Diia portal.

Kostiantyn Koshelenko, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Social Policy in charge of digital development and digital transformations, stated this during his briefing at Media Center Ukraine—Ukrinform.

“Today, a simplified procedure for the people willing to adopt a child using the Diia portal has become operational. An initial adoption request can be submitted either during reception hours in person, as before, or via the portal. There are more than 17,000 children who need to be adopted. However, there are several times as few potential adoptive parents. One of the reasons is that the adoption procedure is very complicated. We are changing it to implement a rapid digitized process. One needs only 5 minutes to submit a request for the initial consultation. The Children Services will still have their powers and keep working as before,” Kostiantyn Koshelenko said.

Denys Ivanov, the head of the expert group for electronic services implementation and quality assessment at the Ministry of Digital Transformation in Ukraine, explained the relevant procedure in the Diia app.

“From now on, one can sign up for an online adoption consultation using the Family section of the Diia app. The information about the potential adoptive parent is picked up automatically. A digital signature is used for authorization. Then, the department in charge contacts the applicant within 15 days to invite them for the consultation. By the way, the consultation can take place either online or in person,” he said.

He added that the work on the subsequent stages of the procedure is ongoing. It is expected that submitting online applications for the adoption of a child and the status of a guardian parent will be made possible by late August.

According to the Ministry of Social Policy, 282 orphanages out of 706 evacuated all or some of their children abroad or within Ukraine. Overall, 6,506 children were evacuated—2,278 to other regions of Ukraine and 4,228 to other countries. Also, 1,750 families—family-type orphanages and foster families—were displaced.

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