In Belarus, family support is a national priority. Family is the most important source of formation and development of a personality.

Various events take place all over the country, dedicated to a week of parental love and attached to Mother’s and Father’s days.

During today’s round table on “Strong family – strong state” specialists discussed realization of the family policy in our country, state support for large families current issues about benefits and social guarantees, planned innovations, issues of educating the younger generation, as well as public initiatives for family education, support for motherhood, family traditions and values.

Director of the National Adoption Center Tatyana Belevich believes that successful formation of child’s personality depends on a parent upbringing him.

Back in 1998 officials approved key strategic measures for state family policy, set targets and they determined primary steps. Currently there is an ongoing work aimed at teaching youngsters responsibility for their family as well as prompt reaction to bad atmosphere in a family and successful solution of the existing problem.

Over the past 20 years, the country has adopted more than 30 regulatory legal acts, which aim at improving the situation of children in foster families and supporting families that have adopted orphans. Equal conditions for material support have been established for all orphans, regardless of the form of their placement in upbringing, and material support for adoptive families has also been provided.

Among the positive changes that have occurred: over 25 years, the number of orphans has decreased by 26.5%; the number of children in boarding institutions of the education system and health care system decreased by 5.9 times, while separately in the education system - almost 4 times.

Speaking about living conditions in orphanages, these are almost close to home ones. The use of foster care opportunities is actively undertaken, incl. for disabled children and children with developmental disabilities.

Tatyana Belevich informed that there are other significant changes. Thus, in comparison with the results of 2002, it was possible to reduce by 6.5 times the number of “refused” children whose parents (the only parent) gave consent to adoption in health care institutions.

“We have the opportunity to observe positive dynamics in the formation among citizens of a conscious understanding of their responsibility for the future of their children. In 2022, 77.1% of children recognized as being in a socially dangerous situation were removed from the register due to the elimination of the problem. But, if a situation does arise in which children are left without parental care, then the first priority is to place them in foster care,” said the director of the National Adoption Center.

Currently, more than 85% of orphans are being raised in foster families of Belarusian citizens, which is 37.4% higher than 25 years ago.

Another important point noted by the speaker is that the priority form is national adoption. During the period of NAC's activity, almost 16 thousand children were placed for adoption. The number of orphans in the republican data bank decreased by 59.6% compared to 2008. Of these, almost 60% of children live in professional foster families, which is 21% more than in 2008, and 25.3% live in boarding schools (2008 – 53.5%).

It is also indicated that the National Adoption Center makes a significant contribution to improving the institution of substitute parenthood. Programs for training candidates for adoptive parents and a program for training professional foster parents have been developed and implemented throughout the republic.
Ensuring national adoption, placing orphans and children without parental care in foster families is also supported by the resource of the National Adoption Center - https://dadomu.by.

“The educational and preventive resources that we create and broadcast include all areas of work to create a culture of family relationships and offer forms and methods of family education that are applicable to all families: foster and natural,” summed up Tatyana Belevich.