Ukraine

We will support thousands of children with specialised educational needs in Ukraine through a Lumos-developed inclusive education model being scaled nationally by the Ministry of Education, while helping prevent family separation through stronger family support and social services.
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The care landscape in Ukraine
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Before the invasion, Ukraine had Europe’s highest rate of children in residential care settings. The conflict has made this crisis worse. Families have been devastated by the war, with displacement, insecurity and prolonged disruption placing enormous pressure on children and their caregivers.

Education has been severely disrupted, and many displaced families – especially those caring for children with disabilities – struggle to access services. Social workers face severe shortages and burnout.

For many families, institutions can be seen as the only way to access education, warmth, or specialist support during the conflict. In 2024, nearly 28,000 children were living in residential institutions, the majority of whom have living relatives.

By focusing on education, child protection, psychological well-being, and family stability, we aim to protect the human rights of children in Ukraine in the face of unbelievable challenges from the ongoing conflict. Our long-term vision is for a safe and secure Ukraine, where families can rebuild their lives and thrive.
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Only 11%

of the 3.5 million families in need currently receive child protection support.

 

More than 1 in 3

children in institutions had a disability in 2024.

 

Nearly 4 in 10 children

miss out on full-time preschool education because many facilities lack protection shelters.

 
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A responsive, dual approach in Ukraine

Protecting children and strengthening family-based care

 

Our beginnings

We began working in Ukraine in 2013, starting remotely in the Dnipro region. By 2016, our impact earned the trust of the Ukrainian government, and we were invited to help shape the country’s first-ever national strategies on care reform and inclusive education.

 

Our work

Today, we support the implementation of Ukraine’s national Better Care Reform Strategy and National Action Plan, for 2024–2028 to ensure every child’s right to grow up in a family environment. Across Ukraine, we work with national and local partners to translate the reform into practical change at community level. We support communities to develop and strengthen social services that respond to the individual needs of children and families, prevent family separation, and enable more children to grow up in safe and supportive families.

We also build the capacity of the people who make these systems work, strengthening the skills of thousands of teachers, social workers and other frontline professionals to deliver inclusive, child-centred and family-focused support.

This includes a particular focus on children with disabilities, helping schools become more inclusive and ensuring families can access the services and support they need within their communities, so institutional care is never seen as the only option to help and protect a child.

When the full-scale invasion began in 2022, we expanded our work to combine emergency humanitarian assistance with the systemic, long-term change we had already started to build.

Our humanitarian support is designed to not only respond to immediate needs, but also to reduce the pressures that can lead to family separation. Case management, psychosocial support, referrals, cash assistance, and community-based services are combined around the needs of each child and family.
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Our care reform work in Ukraine
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Supporting family-based care for children

We support Better Care Reform across Ukraine, strengthening the systems and services that help children grow up in families. In Zhytomyr region, we have supported the development and delivery of a regional plan that puts national Better Care Reform priorities into practice at local level.
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Strengthening families in crisis

We’re preventing family separation and ensuring more children can remain in the care of their families by providing psychosocial and emergency support to families affected by conflict and displacement.
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Reuniting children with their families

We’re supporting the safe reunification of children who have been separated from their families by conflict, through coordinated case management and follow-up support.
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Increasing access to safe, inclusive education

We’re helping children with complex disabilities to access education, by partnering with the Ministry of Education and Science to develop inclusive education programmes.
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Our care reform work in Ukraine
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Supporting family-based care for children

We’re helping more children to remain with their families or in family-based care by supporting the Better Care Reform Plan for Zhytomyr Region. This includes expanding community services to support children’s wellbeing and development.
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Strengthening families in crisis

We’re preventing family separation and ensuring more children can remain in the care of their families by providing psychosocial and emergency support to families affected by conflict and displacement.
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Reuniting children with their families

We’re supporting the safe reunification of children who have been separated from their families by conflict, through coordinated case management and follow-up support.
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Increasing access to safe, inclusive education

We’re helping children, including those with disabilities and those affected by conflict, access education by partnering with the Ministry of Education and Science to develop inclusive programmes.
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