SOCIAL EXCLUSION OF VULNERABLE CATEGORIES OF CHILDREN IN INSTITUTIONAL SETTINGS OF UKRAINE

Abstract

After facing the socio-economic problems of the 1990s, during which social exclusion of children emerged as a phenomenon in the country and over the past two decades, Ukraine has encountered various crises in the economy and society (in particular, the global economic crisis of 2008-2009, the actual beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014, the COVID-2019 pandemic, the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into the territory of Ukraine in 2022), which have significantly led to an increase in the social vulnerability of children and manifestations of social exclusion among them. This problem is especially acutely felt by children living in state institutional setting. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyze the problem of social rejection of vulnerable categories of children in state institutional setting of Ukraine. To achieve this goal, methods of analysis and synthesis, the method of logical generalization, and the graphic method were used. This article studies the main aspects of the problem of social rejection of vulnerable categories of children in institutional settings in Ukraine, and identifies its main types and signs. The main types of social o exclusion of children in state institutional setting are: economic rejection, which is reflected in a low level of provision with necessary stuff , lack of decent housing conditions, limited access to modern technologies and means of communication; social rejection in the context of connections and contacts, the expression of which is limitation of social contacts and connections; cultural rejection, which is can be found in a limited access to cultural services and opportunities for cultural expression. The authors examined a connection between the phenomena of social vulnerability of children in institutions and social exclusion of this group of children. It was found that it is caused by two factors - the complete dependence of children in institutions on state services and the insufficient level of social and everyday skills for a full life in society. In addition, an analysis of the dynamics of the numbers of institutional facilities for children in Ukraine and their residents were carried out.