Support for vulnerable children and families and reform of the childcare system
Every child has the right to live in a family environment
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Challenge
The impact of family separation and the institutionalization of children is devastating and lifelong. Family separation can leave children feeling unwanted and worthless and imprint lasting scars on their mental health and psychological well-being.
For over two decades, after the adoption of the Child Protection Act in 2000, Bulgaria achieved an impressive progress in the child care reform – the country closed almost all large-scale institutions, banned the placement of children under three in institutional care, and invested in parenting support and family-based alternatives such as foster care, kinship care, and community support services.
As a result of the implementation of the National Strategy ‘Vision for the Deinstitutionalization of Children in the Republic of Bulgaria’, the number of children in old-type institutions has decreased significantly* - from 7,587 in 2010 to less than 90 as of January 2026. The number of community-based social services has jumped from 241 in 2010 to 770 in the beginning of 2026. Almost 1,500 children live in foster families in the end of 2025, with one-third of them being under 3 years of age. 4,000 children are placed in kinship care and 2,800 live in residential-type services.
Despite this progress, every year many children continue to be separated from their families. Children from marginalized communities and those with disabilities face the highest risk of being separated from their families. Other factors leading to separation of children from their families include stigma and prejudices, early pregnancies, as well as child marriages in some Roma communities.
* Source: Agency for Social Assistance
Our contribution to the solution
UNICEF works with the Government, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, academia, business and communities to ensure the right of every child to live in supportive and safe family environment through providing support for:
- Conducting analyses, research and data gathering;
- Improving legislation, policies, support measures for vulnerable children and parents and their effective implementation;
- Supporting the closure of the home for children with disabilities in Mogilino, the medical-social care home for children aged 0–3 in Shumen, and the deinstitutionalization process;
- Trainings and support to child protection system and social service workforce for application of an individual approach towards every child, based on his/her needs and rights,
- Development of new services and models in support of vulnerable children and families;
- Ensuring quality of social services for children and families and different types of family and alternative care for children;
- Strengthening the interaction between services for children and families at local level and intersectoral coordination.