site.btaHomes for Medico-Social Care Admit 97 Children in 2025, Down 18.5% Y/Y

In 2025, 97 children were admitted to homes for medico-social care, the National Statistical Institute reported on its website on Thursday. This represents a drop of 18.5% compared to the previous year, when 119 children were admitted to such homes.

The national deinstitutionalization policy aims to shut down these institutions after all children are removed from them.

In late 2025, Daniela Koleva, Programme Director, Child Protection at UNICEF Bulgaria, said that the reform related to removing children from social institutions is remarkable for Bulgaria. Koleva said that in 2000, when the Child Protection Act was adopted, there were over 35,000 children in various social homes. At that time, Bulgaria among the European countries with the highest number of children separated from their families. Following large-scale reforms, investments, new types of services, and the training of social workers in the country, as of November 2025, there are only two medical-social care homes for children, which are planned to be closed by the end of 2026, according to the deinstitutionalization plan. According to data from the Social Assistance Agency from 2025, they are located in Pleven, North Central Bulgaria, and Varna, on the Black Sea, and are responsible for 100 children with severe disabilities who require constant medical care.