Social protection of orphans. Statistics of adoptions and abandonment of children in Russia and the world

The problem of orphanhood, including social, is one of the most pressing in our country. Orphanages and shelters are filled to overflowing. Abandoned children often do not have a place in the orphanage, they are forced to wait in hospitals for a queue.

According to Yelena Mizulina, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Women, Children and Family Affairs, there are 4-5 times more orphans in Russia than in Europe and the United States. According to statistics, the number of abandoned children in Russia now exceeds the post-war period. But there are not so many who want to take children into the family.

Pervouralsk journalist and historian Anatoly Gusev cited interesting statistics in his blog. In the hungry year of 1942, when slightly more than 57 thousand people lived in Pervouralsk, Pervouralsk adopted 21 children. In 2011, there were already about 150 thousand inhabitants in the city, there are almost no barracks, many families have dachas and cars, and only 20 children have been adopted! But out of this twenty citizens of Russia adopted only 12. “Soviet people are over. The Russians are left!” concludes Anatoly Gusev.

Authorities urge Russian citizens to adopt children more actively, for which they propose to encourage them, creating conditions in the country under which citizens of the Russian Federation will adopt children more often than foreigners. In one of his speeches, Vladimir Putin commented on the situation as follows: “I mean, first of all, providing housing, creating conditions for reducing those who adopt them from abroad, and in some near future to reduce this to zero, encouraging accepting children in Russian families.

It seemed that everything was fine, the state supports the family that took the child into the house. This support is quite significant: payment of up to 300,000 rubles upon adoption of a child, issuance of housing certificates, salaries to parents in the amount of up to 17,000 rubles per month for each adopted child, as well as a number of other benefits. In the end, everyone should benefit, including the child, and the society into which this child will enter when he reaches adulthood.

But the special cynicism inherent in our time is manifested in the fact that many citizens decide to take advantage of this opportunity to improve their material well-being! Moreover, foster families have gained particular popularity in rural areas, where wages are much lower than in urban areas, and home gardening requires extra hands, because existing rules allow you to take up to eight children in one foster family! Imagine how many times the income of foster parents increases, who most often do not have elementary pedagogical training.

And how does such a large so-called “family” differ from an orphanage? Surely neither sincere relationships, nor manifestations of mutual tenderness, nor sincere conversations. Maybe all this is not enough for children in orphanages, but the latter are staffed not only by professional teachers who are well acquainted with the specifics of working with orphans, but also by psychologists, methodologists, medical staff, etc.

Non-professional adoptive parents, interested primarily in material incentives, are unable to cope with the upbringing of children (especially when they reach a transitional age) and return them back to orphanages. The tragedy of the “twice rejected” children is scary even to imagine. And there are currently (think about) 30 thousand of them in the country! Secondary orphanhood deeply injures children and leads to their moral and mental degradation. Being abandoned for the second time in their lives, children lose their remaining trust in adults and become disillusioned with the institution of the family, they have deepening problems with attachment to loved ones.

Why is the family and, above all, the mother so important for the child? She personifies for the child love, tenderness, safety. It is in the relationship with the mother that the child learns to take care, to love, to express his feelings. Therefore, children who grew up in orphanages cannot establish deep, trusting relationships, often are not able to create a family and raise their children. Even having siblings, the child remains lonely - after all, in orphanages they are divided into different groups according to age, which does not contribute to the establishment of close relationships.

How can a graduate of an orphanage, accustomed to the fact that all decisions are made for him by someone else and he is provided for everything, adapt to life in our capitalist society, where man is by no means a friend to man. But it is encouraging that there are still people who are ready to provide their shelter and their love to an unnecessary child, although they themselves are by no means rich.

If only there were more such self-sacrificing people, then the problem of overcrowding in orphanages would begin to be solved, and the society would grow full-fledged new members, ready to develop and improve this society.

02/08/2019 The Ministry of Education will submit a draft law on changing the procedure for the adoption of minors to the Government .

On February 8, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation held hearings on the draft law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation on the Protection of Children's Rights." The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation T. Yu. Sinyugina.

During her speech, T. Yu. Sinyugina said that the department was ready to submit a bill on changing the procedure for the adoption of minors to the Government.

Over the course of six months, we met several times. And the reason for our meetings was an interested and indifferent conversation and work on the bill, which today is already ready for us to submit it to the Government, - said T. Yu. Sinyugina.

For reference

In December 2018, members of the Interdepartmental Working Group under the Ministry of Education of Russia prepared a draft law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation on the Protection of Children’s Rights”. The bill was posted on the federal portal of draft regulations for wide public discussion.

The draft law contains new approaches to the transfer of orphans to families, which will allow developing the guardianship institution, improving the conditions for training people who want to take an orphan child into their family.

For the first time, the draft law proposes to introduce the concept of "escort" into federal legislation. It is planned that this authority will be vested in authorized regional authorities and organizations, including NGOs.

Special attention in the document is paid specifically to the adoption procedure, there is added a provision on the procedure for the restoration of adoptive parents in the duties of parents, if they were previously deprived of such an opportunity.

Grisha is Sakhaya Ivanova's fourth child. When the baby was four months old, it turned out that he was seriously ill. It was not possible to make a diagnosis at the place of residence in Yakutsk. But he was sent to Moscow to the world-famous Dima Rogachev Center for Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology.

A source: Summary report on the form of federal statistical observation No. 103-rik
http://minobrnauki.rf/ministry/statistics/information-2016/oop-2016

In 2016, 57,290 children were identified, and 53,633 children were placed in Russian families (including those who were identified in other years), 486 children were transferred to foreign families.
In 2015, 58,168 children were identified, and 58,609 children were placed in Russian families (including those who were identified in other years), 746 children were transferred to foreign families.
, and placed 62,972 children in Russian families, 1,038 children in foreign families

Table from report 103-RIC for 2016

For comparison, data for 2015:
The trend of the past years continued - every year fewer children are identified, less and less often they are deprived of their rights, and fewer and fewer children are placed in families. The data bank on children is shrinking largely due to the deregistration of children who are 18 years of age.

Dynamics of family placement of children 2007-2015:
According to the forms of family structure in the context of years

By family arrangements and ages of children in 2015

Data for 2016 is not currently available on usynovite.ru.

At the same time, the statistics of 103-RIK do not record the number of children left in institutions at the request of parents"due to a difficult life situation." Accordingly, it is not known exactly how much the number of such children increases or decreases.

Upon request, the following information was obtained: Kommersant Vlast magazine No. 11 dated 03/21/2016, "Family circumstances"
“According to official data, in Russia today there are 1,783 organizations for orphans and children left without parental care. 96,952 children live in them. 38,382 children do not have orphan status and placed in institutions at the request of parents. "Now we have all orphanages and guardianship agencies working with the birth family," says Yulia Yudina, director of the "Change One Life" charity foundation. "But at the same time, there is not enough human and professional resources for such work. These poor, confused families are offered a psychologist, but they need a job, salary and constant support.As a result, the children are left in families that have no resource to raise them, or live in orphanages as "parents" - parents are not deprived of their rights, because this is also a bad indicator. You look how many such "parental" children we have in orphanages: according to our observations, on average, about 30-40% . Many of them are virtual orphans who are "stuck" in the system of state institutions for an unforgivably long time. "

How many orphans and disabled children are there in Russia, what are the forms of adoption, what should be the reforms for the prevention of orphanhood, what are the stereotypes of the perception of an orphan, what should be done to adopt a child? Figures and facts.

Walter Langley, The Orphan (1889).

There are about 650,000 orphans and children left without parental care in Russia. At the same time, there were about 100 thousand children in Russian orphanages as of September 2013 (the majority of orphans - more than 500 thousand - are being raised in families).

In Russia, there is a tendency to reduce the number of children left without parental care identified in one year. During 2012, 74 thousand 724 such children were identified (in 2011 - more than 82 thousand).

At the same time, there is a steady downward trend in the number of children placed in foster families. In 2012, 58.8 thousand children were transferred to family forms of placement (in 2011 - 67.5 thousand, in 2009 - 86.6 thousand). On the one hand, this is due to a decrease in the number of children identified annually as left without parental care, as well as a decrease in the number of pupils who are in organizations for orphans and children left without parental care. On the other hand, this may be due to the fact that there are many children with disabilities, adolescents or children with a strong attachment to the birth family left in orphanages. These categories of children are difficult to arrange in families (for comparison: in Ukraine, the number of children transferred to family forms of education is growing every year).

Today in Russia, about 85% of orphans are social orphans, that is, children with living parents (5 years ago this figure was less than 75%). Russia has not yet built a system for working with a child's birth family and preventing social orphanhood. Recently, the first steps in this direction have been taken in Moscow and large cities (for example, in 2013 the Department of Social Protection of Moscow developed and adopted the Concept of a model for the prevention of social orphanhood, which, however, has not yet begun to work). Until now, guardianship and guardianship authorities operate within the framework of a binary paradigm: to leave or take a child from the birth family. The system of social services, family support in a difficult life situation has not been developed. There is still a lack of NGOs that are able to take on the functions of helping a particular family.

Among the orphans in orphanages there are 17.5 thousand disabled people. In total, there are 576,000 disabled children in Russia. In most cases, these children are disabled with mental disorders. Although the allowance for a disabled child was increased in 2013, as well as the amount of the lump sum for those parents who adopt children with disabilities, state support does not cover even one tenth of the needs of such families.

In Russia, the system of secondary education does not meet the needs of disabled children, there is no qualified rehabilitation and medical assistance, and such children are deprived of further social and educational prospects. Disabled people with mild mental or mental disabilities cannot get a job (whereas in developed countries, for example, people with Down syndrome are required to be hired for simple work). Many potential adoptive parents are stopped by the fact that after the death of the adoptive parents (in most cases, the adoptive parents are people of middle and older age), the disabled person is doomed to social death - placement in a psycho-neurological boarding school, where he will be isolated from society until the end of his life and will most likely lose all acquired social skills. The way out of the situation can be the organization of training apartments, private houses for the disabled to live together under the supervision of healthy people, etc.

In connection with the so-called law of Dima Yakovlev (a ban on the adoption of Russian children in the United States), the topic of orphans and their adoption in Russia received wide publicity and attention.

By 2018, the government of the Russian Federation has set the task of halving the number of orphanages. Over the past four years, the number of public orphanages has decreased from 1,770 to 1,344 (data as of May 2013). In Moscow in 2013, state orphanages were focused on the transfer of children to families: each orphanage received an appropriate order, the implementation of which depends on the amount of salaries and further employment of directors of institutions. Within a few years, two types of orphanages are planned to be left in Moscow: small-sized (less than 30 people) and family-type orphanages. In accordance with the presidential decree of December 28, 2012, an item on the proportion of children left without parental care was included in the list of indicators for assessing the effectiveness of the activities of the executive authorities of the country's constituent entities.

In 2012, Russia adopted the School of Adoptive Parents program, within the framework of which purposeful work began with those families who intend to take a child into a family. Currently, there are about 50 such schools in Moscow, and they are also open in other regions.

In 2013, a reform of the system of orphanages began in Moscow, where a baby left without parental care is forced to stay until the age of 5. During this time, the child significantly loses in development due to lack of attention, communication and, in fact, through the efforts of the state system, is forcibly protected from all needs, except for vital ones. In Moscow, 7 orphanages were closed, since 2014 it is planned to transfer the remaining 10 institutions under the jurisdiction of the Department of Social Protection (previously they were under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health) and establish the process of promptly transferring children to families there. Unlike Moscow, the problem of orphanages is still relevant for other Russian regions.

In order to avoid a situation with a child being in a medical institution for a long time without attention and supervision, it is necessary to think over a mechanism for the prompt transfer of newborn children to professional foster families. While the issue of the rights of the birth parents is being resolved, the child must live in a professional foster family, which, if necessary (returning the rights to the birth parents), will be obliged to return the child to the birth family.

Photo from http://fishki.net/anti

The procedure for placing a child in a family

In Russia, there are 5 forms of family placement for orphans and children left without parental care:
- adoption;
- guardianship (guardianship);
- creation of a foster family;
- temporary transfer of children to families;
- Establishment of a foster family.

Adoption assumes that all the rights and obligations of an adopted child are equated with the rights and obligations of natural children. In most cases, this form is used when talking about babies.

guardianship- a form of placement of minors under the age of 14 (from 14 to 18 years - guardianship), in which the relevant duties are performed, as a rule, free of charge. Most often, custody of the ward is established by his relatives.

foster family- guardianship or guardianship of a child or children that are carried out under an agreement on a foster family, concluded between the guardianship and guardianship authority and the adoptive parents or foster parent, for the period specified in this agreement. Guardianship authorities are obliged to check and help the foster family. Foster parents receive a monthly remuneration and funds for the maintenance of the child.

Temporary transfer of children to families- transfer of children to families for the period of vacation, weekends or non-working holidays and in other cases for a period of not more than 1 month. As a rule, it is used in emergency cases, while relatives collect documents for guardianship or a foster family.

Patronate form of the device- at the moment it is almost not used. The difference between foster care and guardianship and adoption, first of all, is that this form allows for the selection of families, vocational training and support of the family after the adoption of the child.

Basic requirements for adoptive parents:

- age of majority;
- the absence of cases of restriction of parental rights, removal from duties of a guardian, foster parent, adoptive parent;
- legal capacity;
- no criminal record;
- no medical contraindications;
- a permanent place of residence that meets sanitary standards;
- income that provides the child with a standard of living not lower than the subsistence minimum;
- preparation for adoption.

Steps to adoption:

– Obtaining the status of a candidate for adoptive parents
– consultation in the guardianship and guardianship authorities;
- training at school for foster parents;
- collection of necessary documents;
- obtaining an opinion on the possibility of being an adoptive parent;
- registration with the guardianship authorities.

— Selection and acquaintance with the child
– acquaintance with the general base of children left without parental care;
- obtaining a referral for acquaintance and acquaintance with the child;
- adoption decision.

- Judgment
- obtaining the conclusion of the guardianship authorities on the advisability of adoption;
- the court's decision;
- preparation of documents.

Problems of placement of children for upbringing in a family

Despite a number of positive changes, the country still lacks an assessment system and qualified control over foster families. Foster parents' schools are limited in their powers and in fact cannot issue negative conclusions about the possibility of placing a child in a family, and guardianship and guardianship authorities are very often not competent enough to adequately resolve this issue. In addition, the system for training specialists in the school of foster parents has not been developed.

As before, many orphanages, especially those for children with disabilities, are semi-closed institutions, where access for volunteers and public organizations is difficult (the exception is Moscow, where state institutions are obliged to admit volunteers). Many state orphanages still have more than 100-200 children, which undermines the idea of ​​individual care and attention in relation to each child.

In the process of adoption the interests of not the child, but of the potential adoptive parent are put at the forefront. The official website, where the federal database for children left without parental care is published, literally assumes the selection of a child by eye color, hair color, etc. The system is built on the principle of a store and proceeds from an attempt to persuade potential parents to take a child, while in world practice a child is not selected for a parent, but on the contrary, a parent is selected for a child. In order to change this approach, you need to rebuild the system, create a database of adoptive parents. A particular child needs to select a parent depending on the individual qualities of the child and his characteristics.

Not many in Russia dare to take orphans to be brought up in a family. Often this is due to stereotypes: a negative attitude towards the fact of adoption of a child, the desire of parents for the obligatory success of their (adopted) child. For various reasons, having a foster child in Russia is considered shameful.. Foster parents in most cases wish to adopt blue-eyed beautiful babies, whom they hope to raise as their own children. Many are not ready for the real situation (most children are teenagers over 10 years old with their own sad childhood history or disabled people).

In Russia, the number of children of labor migrants, mostly of non-Slavic origin, is growing every year. Due to problems with documents, the parents of such children do not apply to state institutions, and there is an obvious lack of non-state institutions to help migrant children.

Statistical information is taken from open sources (website usinovite.ru, RIA Novosti, statements by P.A. Astakhov, O.Yu. Golodets, etc.)

The number of orphans in Russia over 10 years has more than tripled: from 187 thousand to 51.8 thousand. Experts note that there are practically no healthy babies left in orphanages. However, in the last three years there have been fewer disabled people in orphanages, including those with such serious diagnoses as cerebral palsy and Down's syndrome.

According to information from the federal data bank on orphans and children left without parental care, there are now 51.8 thousand children in Russia who are not placed in a family. This is 4.2% less than in October 2016. In just the last ten years, the number of orphans has decreased by more than three times (from 187 thousand people in 2006). This was told to Izvestia by the head of the Adopt.ru portal (online version of the state data bank on children) Armen Popov.

He clarified that over the seven months of this year, 29.9 thousand orphans and children left without parental care were identified, and 42.6 thousand were placed in families. That is, one and a half times more children found a family than her lost.

The trend towards a reduction in the number of children in orphanages began five years ago. For example, from 2013 to 2014, the database of children has decreased by 12.4 thousand people.

According to Armen Popov, this result was achieved thanks to a targeted state policy and a change in society's attitude towards a foster family. He noted that there are more and more families who are ready to take a child even with such a diagnosis as cerebral palsy (ICP). For example, the Moscow Knyaginin family brings up seven adoptive families, among whom there is a child with cerebral palsy. This year, she became one of the winners of the Moscow city award "Stork Wings", which was established by the Moscow Department of Labor and Social Protection of the Population for her contribution to the development of family arrangements for orphans.

Armen Popov said that in the Moscow data bank 55% of disabled children, and 75% - teenagers aged 16-17. But in recent years, there has been a persistent trend - children with disabilities are increasingly leaving orphanages and finding themselves in families. Thus, in the capital from 2013 to 2016, the number of children with disabilities placed in a family increased from 58 to 211 people.

We are noticing that foster families are increasingly taking children with Down syndrome. For me it was a question, but in the process of communicating with my parents, I understood why they do this. These are children, especially those who “give away” emotionally, so to speak. You do good to them - they pay the same. No wonder they are called "sunny" children, - explained Armen Popov.

According to the federal data bank on orphans, in 2016, 1,863 children with disabilities were adopted or taken into care. And according to Rosstat, the number of disabled children brought up in orphanages began to decrease in 2013 (minus 11.6%). In the next two years, the rates of decline were 20.6% and 13.5%. And in 2016 - 3.9%.

Yulia Zimova, First Deputy Chairman of the Commission for Support of Family, Motherhood and Childhood of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia that most of the children with disabilities are adopted and taken under guardianship by residents of large cities. The infrastructure is better developed here, payments and benefits for foster families are higher. There are also many foster parents in the south of the country - among people living in private homes with their own land.

According to Elena Alshanskaya, president of the Volunteers to Help Orphans Foundation, there are fewer orphans in Russia, as parental rights are being deprived less and less. According to Rosstat, from 2009 to 2016, the number of mothers and fathers whose children were taken away decreased from 72,000 to 41,300 people.

Security guards have become more careful. But this is not enough, - Elena Alshanskaya believes. - Unfortunately, they have no professional training, are based on a subjective decision and do not cooperate with organizations that could offer assistance to the family.

In addition, the number of abandoned babies in maternity hospitals is decreasing. Here the creation of regional services for the prevention of abandonment of newborns plays a role. According to the statistics of Adopt.ru, from 2013 to 2015, the number of children abandoned by mothers at birth decreased from 5.8 thousand to 4.4 thousand.