Uzbekistan to roll out professional foster family service for children affected by violence

According to the decree, candidates seeking to establish a professional foster family will undergo training based on social rehabilitation programs.

Children in need of social protection who have been removed from their families as a result of violence will be placed with professional foster families on the basis of contracts concluded between the Inson Social Services Centers and the respective families.

For each child placed in a professional foster family, a monthly payment equal to twice the minimum wage will be provided from the State Social Protection Fund to cover childcare expenses.

Initially, small-scale social support centers for children in need of social protection will be launched within the system of the National Agency for Social Protection in Kashkadarya, Navoi, and Khorezm regions, with plans to expand the initiative to other regions of the country by the end of 2026.

Starting September 1, 2026, children affected by violence and children who have witnessed violence will be provided with state-funded legal assistance from the moment they are involved in relevant procedural actions.

Administrative liability will be introduced for employees of educational, healthcare, and social protection institutions, regardless of their form of ownership, who fail to report identified cases of violence against children.

The Republican Educational and Upbringing Institution for Girls and the Republican Educational and Upbringing Institution for Boys will be dissolved. Instead, a Children’s Support and Social Integration Center will be established as a state institution, along with its regional branches in Samarkand, Fergana, Khorezm, and Bukhara regions.

From March 1, 2026, the “mehrli oila” service will be introduced at Inson Social Services Centers for the parents of children in need of social protection, or their legal guardians.

Parents or legal guardians involved in the “mehrli oila” service will be provided with free family therapy services aimed at restoring disrupted family relationships and supporting children’s socialization, taking into account their psychophysical characteristics.