Tulip Foundation supports the campaign “Opening doors for Europe’s Children” of Eurochild and Hope and Homes for Children, aimed at reforming the institutional childcare in Europe.

The initiative is implemented both at EU and national level in partnership with organisations from12 European countriesincludingBosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. The National Network for Children is a national coordinator for Bulgaria.

Hundreds of thousands of children in Europe grow up in institutions. Institutional care is damaging to children, they are denied individual attention and nurture they need to realise their full potential. Most have low educational performance and many fall victim to trafficking, exploitation, unemployment, homelessness and depression when they become adults. Most of these children have their parents but they have separated from their families due to poverty reasons.

There is a national strategy and action plan for closure of the child care institutions in Bulgaria and still the number of children entering institutional care remains high. According to official data 5633 children are living in institutions by the end of 2012. The entrance to the child care institutions stays open and additional efforts are needed for establishment of integral services for family support, prevention and early intervention.

The aim of the campaign is to call on the EU and national governments to make the deinstitutionalisation as their priority and to use the European financial instruments to make it reality.