Russian Orphanage Reform and Statistics UPDATED
This is the first time that I have seen specific statistics on deinstitutionalizing Russian regions.
Orphanage funding: “The expenditure per child ranges from 350,000 – 600,000 rubles ($11,000 – $18,000) – depending on the region”
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s June goal set forth in the National Child Welfare Strategy: transfer “90 percent of orphans to families in various forms of guardianship.”
Schools in Moscow to train foster parents: 32
Where the money is used: “not spent so much on the children, however, as on school maintenance, staff salaries and utility costs. In addition, orphanage staff members receive substantial bonuses for working with sick children, which leads staff members to add diagnoses in some cases.” ” Russian legislation says that a child cannot be approved for international adoption until he or she has been rejected by five potential local foster families. Orphanages make more money from foreign adoptions, whereas Russian families can adopt for free, so orphanage staff are encouraged to give a child as many diagnoses as possible to scare off potential foster parents from Russia.”
Krasnodar Territory foster parents: “25 foster families in 2005. Today, there are over 2,000.” “As a result, 9 out of 10 orphans in Krasnodar today are living in families. The state encourages this process financially, too: the adoption of a child with a disability is supported with up to 500,000 rubles. The foster parents themselves also receive a monthly payment.”
City of Cherepovets (largest city in Vologda Oblast): “until 2006, there were nine orphanages for 300,000 children. The local authorities then realized that the problem’s solution starts with the family and the charity fund Doroga k Domu (The Way Home) appeared in the city and opened a Foster Parent School. Soon, the number of orphanages was reduced to five. Most importantly, no foster families have returned children placed with them.”
Tyumen Region: ” Parents in need are given help finding a job and giving up drugs and alcohol, if needed. They are granted financial assistance to start small businesses. As a result, the number of parents deprived of parental rights has been sharply reduced. And 89 percent of the children live in families.”
REFORM Puzzle Piece
[Russia Beyond the Headlines 6/26/12 by Svetlana Smetanina]
Update: “A new report indicates that 118,000 Russian orphans are currently living in government-run institutions, reported The Moscow Times on March 22. Another 54,500 children are currently in the Russian foster care system.
The new report also says that the vast majority of children who entered the state-run system in 2012 have living parents. While their parents are alive, however, they aren’t able to care for the children due to issues with alcohol, drugs and crime. The Russian government continues to explore ways to increase domestic adoption of Russian orphans. Despite their efforts, the number of domestic adoptions completed in 2012 fell from the previous year — 7,400 were completed in 2011 compared to 6,600 in 2012.”
Russia adoption: New report says Russia has 118,000 orphans in state care
[Examiner 3/22/13 by Shawna O’Reilly]
The combined total of children in orphanages and foster care is MUCH less than the 700,000 often-quoted figure.
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