Luhansk region will improve social services for families with children

The Luhansk Regional State Administration, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Ukrainian Child Rights Network signed a Memorandum of Cooperation for the Development of Social Services in Communities. Luhansk Regional State Administration will contribute to the successful implementation of the project “JOINTLY”, will support communities in organizing the provision of quality services, as well as will involve its own specialists in participation in education and training within the project.

The project “JOINTLY” is implemented in five united territorial communities of Luhansk region (Bilovodsk, Bilokurakyne, Novopskov, Troitske, Chmyrivka). Its task is to determine what social services the residents of a particular community need, to train specialists, and to establish interaction between departments. Also within the project, a multifunctional center of social services will be created in each community.

UNICEF funds for the project were provided by the German government through the German Development Bank (KfW). The partners of the project work directly in the communities of Luhansk region – CO “SOS Children’s Villages” and ICO “Partnership for Every Child”, which are members of the Consortium of the project “JOINTLY”.

The project has been operating in communities since 2019 and has now moved to the stage of establishing cooperation between agencies of different levels of subordination. Clear algorithms of cooperation are the key to quickly identifying families in need and effectively providing them with social services. An important factor in success is the coordination of the efforts of social policy actors at the local and regional levels.

In total 12 communities from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts are participating in the project. During the project, about 100,000 community residents will receive a new type of social services. These include families with children and young people, including IDP families, low-income families and those raising a child with a disability.

The project is implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in partnership with five non-governmental organizations led by the Ukrainian Child Rights Network with financial support of the German Government and the German Development Bank (KfW). The project is being implemented by the NGO “SOS Children’s Villages”, the NGO “Partnership for Every Child”, the NGO “Social Synergy”, the NGO “Hope and Homes for Children” and the NGO “Mariupol Youth Union”.