site.btaMinister of Labour and Social Policy Gutsanov and UK Ambassador Nathaniel Copsey Discuss UN Global Campaign for Childcare Reform

Minister of Labour and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov and the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Bulgaria Nathaniel Copsey discussed an upcoming initiative under the global campaign for childcare reform, which will be held during the UN General Assembly in September this year, the press centre of the line ministry said on Wednesday. "We fully share the view that reform of child care is needed on a global scale, so that the right of every child to grow up in a family environment is guaranteed," the Minister said.

“In Bulgaria, this process is already in its final stage and our experience can be useful to other countries,” Gutsanov said. The announcement of the launch of the campaign in Bulgaria is a great recognition of the achievements in the deinstitutionalization of childcare in recent years in this country, the Minister also noted. The reform in this area in Bulgaria is being implemented exclusively as a state policy and as a result, there is no longer institutional care for children, but the emphasis is on their upbringing in a family environment, he also commented.

The reform of raising children in a family environment has been implemented consistently and purposefully exclusively as a state policy since 2010, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy stated. The goal of the reform is that by the end of 2025, there will be no institutional care for them in Bulgaria. At the beginning of the reform, almost 7,600 children were being raised in 137 institutions. Today, only three homes for medical and social care are operating with 104 children in residence. The only reason these homes have not been closed yet is that children with multiple disabilities are being accommodated there, the Ministry said. 

By the end of 2024, there were 5,350 children placed in families of relatives or close friends, or in foster families, and under 3,000 in residential social services that offer care in an environment close to the family. The number of social services to support children and families has increased threefold, from 241 in 2010 to 759 at the end of 2024. More than 20,600 children and families receive support, Ministry data indicates.

On January 17 this year, a global campaign aimed at the right of every child to grow up in a family environment began in Sofia. It is being implemented at the initiative of the British government, and Bulgaria was chosen to start it because of its extremely successful experience in the deinstitutionalization of childcare. The opening was at the Centre for Early Childhood Development of the For Our Children Foundation.