UNICEF and Ministry of Social Policy partner Up for social workers in Ukraine

UNICEF has partnered with Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy to support and enable social workers across the country, as the war continues to devastate the lives of families and children.

Children with disabilities that are not with their biological families, families displaced and living in temporary shelters, and children orphaned from the war – complicated and complex, many of them need individual attention and support, which is the service provided by social workers. Their job is to help children and families cope and make sure they can access other services like health, cash, mental and psychosocial support. 

However, for such a big job, only about 3,260 social workers are left in Ukraine to support the ever-increasing caseloads of children and families who need more help than ever because of this war.

"Work of social workers is becoming increasingly important. But at the same time,  their workload increases too. That is why we have to support them with new knowledge, mental health care, and digital tools to simplify the work processes. This is a priority for us and our international partners. We are grateful to UNICEF for supporting social services development in Ukraine," says Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Oksana Zholnovich. 

“Social workers continue to deliver in Ukraine for the most vulnerable children and families who have been affected by this war – and they need support too,” says UNICEF Representative in Ukraine Murat Sahin. “UNICEF understands that, and so we make sure that social workers have access to the help they need to do their jobs well, which in turn means better support to the children and families the social workers serve.”

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, UNICEF has provided 1,000 social workers with laptops. Furthermore, at the request of the Ministry of Social Policy, UNICEF has purchased 5,000 tablets for social workers and children's services specialists to facilitate their work.

UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Policy also plan to expand the e-system of case management, to simplify documentation, streamline the work of specialists and introduce digital social services to promote the modernization of the workforce for a modern era.

UNICEF continues to develop social workers' skills and prevent burnout by holding training sessions and webinars.