UNICEF: US company owned by Montenegrin citizen donates $300.000 to Foster Care Center

The United States-based company "Piece of Cake", headed by Montenegrin citizen Vojin Popović, has donated $300.000 to UNICEF to support the Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography in establishing the first Foster Care Center in Montenegro, with the aim of ensuring that every child grows up in a safe family environment, UNICEF announced today.

Damir Gutić, Minister of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography of Montenegro, said that this initiative represents an important step in advancing the reform of the child protection system.

"The Foster Care Center, envisaged by the Deinstitutionalization Strategy (2025–2028), will play a key role in strengthening foster care in Montenegro. By expanding professional support to foster families, we will contribute to preventing unnecessary placement of children in institutions and improving the quality and availability of social and child protection services across the country," said Gutić.

The UNICEF statement added that around 80 children are currently living in residential institutions in Montenegro, including children with developmental disabilities and children living in adverse living circumstances.

"Every child has the right to grow up in a family environment. The establishment of the Foster Care Center will help children without adequate parental care grow up in a safe family environment, with the love and stability they need to develop," said Mikele Servadei, Head of UNICEF's Representative Office in Montenegro.

The UNICEF statement states that according to regional analysis of child protection systems in Europe and Central Asia published by UNICEF in 2024, large-scale institutional placement can cost three to five times more per child than foster care.

"Therefore, strengthening foster care is considered a more sustainable and cost-effective solution compared to long-term reliance on institutional placement, with better outcomes for children," the statement reads.

Vojin Popović, CEO of Piece of Cake, said that the company sees private sector engagement as an important way to achieve long-term improvements in child protection.

"By contributing to the establishment of the Foster Care Center, we are investing in solutions that strengthen family care for children in Montenegro. We believe that the private sector can play a significant role in initiating reforms that bring lasting results for children," said Popović.

UNICEF said that this 18-month partnership will enable the establishment of a national Foster Care Center with regional units across the country, which will identify, train and support foster families.

"The center will contribute to strengthening professional standards in foster care and support the continued transition from institutional to family-based child care. The partnership with 'Piece of Cake' confirms the growing collaboration between public institutions, UNICEF and the private sector in implementing national reforms in the field of child protection," UNICEF said.