Reform of children's homes can open the door of the juvenile justice system

In recent years, Russia began to close children's homes. This is done under a policy of deinstitutionalization of orphans. The point is that children, left without parental care living in state institutions and in foster families. The idea looks nice and reasonable, however, some Russian experts in the field of child psychology see it as a serious threat.
The family-like environment
In may 2014, the Russian government adopted decree No. 481 on the activities of organizations for orphans and children left without parental care. The document comes into force on 1 September 2015.
From this day all orphanages in Russia are switching to a new form of work, becoming a family-type institutions. This means that the groups will be no more than eight children of different sex, age and state of health. As stated in the resolution, "first of all, full and half brothers and sisters, children — members of the same family or children in kinship relations, which previously were brought together in one family".
According to the initiators of the reform, the unification of different ages and different sexes of children in one group meets the requirements of the new "family" approach: in these families also live children of different sex and age. Thus, uneven-aged brothers and sisters will no longer be shared by different groups, and children aged up to 4 years in the group should be no more than 6.
Around the clock 5 days a week with children will live in caregivers — "social mom and dad". Conditions of stay of children in the groups will be very close to home.
It is expected that groups will remain on the premises, organized by housing type, with a separate kitchen, a place where children can do homework, etc. If you equip a kitchen for all rooms does not work, then the food should be prepared in the dining room and then be introduced to the group.
The closing of orphanages proponents of reform explain the fact that in recent years due to simplification of procedure of adoption number of children started to decline. According to the Deputy Director of Department of state policy in the sphere of protection of children's rights Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation Irina Romanova, the rate has decreased from 120 000 children in 2013 to 78 000 at the moment, and at the beginning of 2015 in institutions for orphans there were 87 000 students. Well and, accordingly, if in the institution only a few children, it is necessary either to close or to reorganize.
Even the word "orphanage" is rooted in the past. Institutions for children-orphans are now renamed "centres for the promotion of family education", etc. When they are created and schools for adoptive parents where a potential moms and dads can look to the children.
Great attention is now paid to support adoptive families. In ad-hoc centres are lawyers, doctors, psychologists, defectologists (which is especially important if the foster family took the child with disabilities). The establishment of such centers, according to a member of the Commission on the support of family, children and motherhood Public chamber Julia Silovoi, will greatly help solve the problem of employment of employees of children's homes closing. They can become specialists on support of families.
Family in a dangerous situation
At first glance, the picture is wonderful. However, there is a very serious problem that can significantly affect the fate of Russian orphans. Some of them on July 29, said the participants of the online meeting in the Public chamber of the Russian Federation. As noted Yulia zimova, "the main thrust of the reform that we are now trying all the children in the family and return to the blood (the relatives. — RP) family. I know that in some regions there is a stimulation of the Directors of the agencies to ensure that they gave the children maximally to their families".
But in the course of audits in the regions revealed one thing that caused the shock relying. The fact that some institutions for orphans are budget, and their funding is tied to completion of state tasks, in which one of the indicators is the number of pupils. There are other state — institutions, they have this "headache" no: they are funded according to the approved budget, regardless of how many children are in them. Because children entering children's homes, is becoming less budgetary institutions have, no matter how crazy it sounds, take them out families.
"While we are forced to work to return these children to their families, to arrange in foster homes, some organisations are forced to find ways to survive and "get" kids to do government work, from their dysfunctional families," explains Julia zimova.
"This means that juvenile justice will actively pursue the search for such families, and if not, declare a normal family "dysfunctional"," predicts Irina Medvedeva, child psychologist, Director of the Public Institute of demographic security, a member of the Council under the Commissioner for children's rights Pavel Astakhov, the co-founder of the community center on the family and traditional values "Ivan-tea".
How is this even possible? "There is this concept of "family at risk", — explained the Chairman of the Board of the center "Ivan-tea" Elina Cordlike. And in this category fall, for example, many children of a single mother — a perfectly normal, non-drinking women. There was a case in Diveevo, when one mother tried to take children. Natalia Finogeeva lived with six children, her husband left her, nobody came. To work had to travel far from home, had to leave the kids alone. Thanks to the efforts of the Orthodox defenders of children managed to return, but is unlikely to Natalia and her family will leave in peace..."
And here we come to issues not reflected in the resolution No. 481 and with no direct relation to it. This is, shall we say, problems are much more global order.
"Foster family" — a term that is widely used, sometimes as a synonym for adoption. However, from the point of view of the government the difference between these forms of the device of children-orphans is very significant. First, unlike adoptive parents, foster families do not receive full rights to the child and controlled by the guardianship authorities. Second, in a foster family, the child may be taken at the time and in some cases several times transferred from one family to another.
Foster families in the West are called "foster" ("foster", "replacement"). Some charities already controls for such practices in Russia. Foster the opponents of the approach say that the transfer of the child "hand in hand" traumatize his psyche. In people, this idea is also approved meets. Adoptive families we perceive as "Luggage storage", a way to "overexposure" the children how some vegetables at the wholesale warehouse. One of variants of translation of the English term foster care — "educating other people's children", but in Russia there is an old saying that "no other children".
"For most Russian women unacceptable even thought about the fact that you can take the baby for a while, says "Russian planet" Julia zimova. — Adoptive mom fighting for each child. In Krasnodar territory one such mother raising eight, and now, maybe, already and nine children. Some of them with down syndrome, delayed growth. In her home gym is equipped with special simulators, on the plot there is a garden, where the family engaged in farming, even bought the donkey".
At the same time, the country is still acute problem of social orphanhood. "We are talking about children who have parents but left without their care. Not in all cases such children can be adopted, — said the representative of the Public chamber. For example, there is often such a situation: mother is in prison, at the time of its conclusion the child is in foster care, but upon release, the mother may wish to take it. So adoption is not possible, a temporary stay of the child in family less traumatic to his psyche than the child home. But foster families for Russia it is a rarity, and their implementation in any case is not a key position of the state".
It is hoped that foster the spread of practices and indeed is not threatened. Too grim statistics they have in the West.
According to the public center for the protection of family and traditional values "Ivan-tea", only in the UK from January 2012 to December 2013 from adoptive families disappeared 24 320 children. Some of the children from foster families completely disappears, since the control is virtually nonexistent. The return of children to the guardianship in such families averages almost 50%. In the U.S. children from one foster family to another passed almost 15 times, on the Bulletin Board.
In countries that followed the path of deinstitutionalization of orphans before you start to regret. In the United States, the growing movement for the restoration of the system of children's homes (now completely destroyed) and a greater diversity of approaches in the field of social assistance to orphans. Participate in prominent American scientists.
Russia should not tread on the same rake. "Of course, in traditional children's homes, not everything was perfect, — says Irina Medvedeva. — But why you need certainly to shut them down, is it not better to try to restore order?! This area does not tolerate reforms, it should be the most conservative, the experiments on children is unacceptable! If you want to get rid of orphanages, do everything that the child remained in the family blood! Don't implement juvenile justice do not cry "family violence"! Better make sure that women do not leave children in hospitals".
Greed and lack of control
And now let's give the floor to the man who himself grew up in an orphanage. Here's what he thought about the reforms Valentina Grishina, engineer, landscape construction, and a graduate of children's home №39 in Pushkino.
"The most dangerous thing is the lack of control. The work of orphanages can control volunteers, boards of Trustees, adoptive families no one to control, she explains. — The Director of the facility knows that the child is given, say, Ivanov, but Ivanov can confiscate and pass to Petrov. About it nobody learns, and the more that happened to the child more. Maybe he fell into the hands of the Scientologists, the Pentecostals, or even in some kind of cult? Maybe it sold abroad on experiments or on the organs?
In the 1990s Russian children from orphanages adopted by foreigners were taken literally by planes. Flight attendants were terrified, looking at it. How many children have been taken, no one can count...
One only Hope Fratti-Sergacheva exported to Italy 1260 children, and only five of them were really adopted, others simply did not find... And the head of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Italy has admitted that there are lost every year hundreds of children brought from other countries, and suggested that they go to private clinics for organ transplants. And this is only one story, and how many was that?!
Various NGOs including the real sects, somehow received from the state legal access to the system of children's institutions of Russia. Some sectarian organizations have a contract with orphanages for volunteer service. When we started to make a fuss, the zealots a little quiet, but I think that it is long.
It is no accident we have so zealously try to implement juvenile justice. Her fear is that she not only denies parents the sacred right to education of the child, but also directly promotes the sale of children.
It so happens that from the orphanage the child is in a wonderful foster home where he feels happy. But if the child put the eyes, the juvenile will find an excuse to get him out of this family.
I have no doubt that the closure of children's homes are vested interests of officials. That's why there was talk about what terrible conditions in our orphanages and children suffer. Such a child could have, but "the reformers" this gives reason to comb one size fits all, including those whose conditions meet the requirements of regulations No. 481!
Thus, graduates of our 39th orphanage not just socialized, but will be ready for entry into prestigious universities. They are fully adapted to life — in all respects. I myself after the orphanage was able to do everything. The system of our education was built so that the brain has evolved, and hands, and the body was healthy. Sports for us were in the same way like brushing your teeth twice a day. And now there are excellent conditions for sports: Biking, skating, skiing...
But recently, in the orphanage №39 stopped supplying new children, and if so, do you mean "should be closed". This is the logic of the "reformers". They also like to say that the number of orphans in the country generally decreases eyes. But they call false numbers: actually orphans increases, including because of the situation in Ukraine. And no one can say exactly how many of them now! It turns out that in some of the orphanage children don't do, and this gives reason to talk about them closing, while others, 48th for example, is full!
The Soviet system of children-orphans has been good because it all, from beginning to end, was selfless, and now everything is decided by money. At the 39th children's home is a very good area: near Moscow is a beautiful place, 6.4 hectares of land. That someone, apparently, wanted all of this to seize. But we will fight for the 39th to the end!
In General, the main problems are two, and they are linked together is vested interest and lack of control. So one solution is to create independent boards of Trustees, which will monitor these issues, to monitor the fate of orphans".
How can and should be
"In recent years, increasingly there is a pattern: the more dangerous an innovation, the denser around the shell of humanism, says Irina Medvedeva. — Declaration, as always, are remarkable: by angry fate, the children were deprived of basic needs and family situation, and now — Oh, joy! — they return. Under the banner of concern for children trying to close orphanages. And for some reason it is the best, the ones that children find their family and they don't want to go into foster care. Even longtime graduates of these institutions fiercely stand up for them protection. Now we're trying to help them to maintain the sanatorium children's home № 39 in Pushkino and "Young guard" Vnukovo".
In fact, to create a child-family life conditions, not necessarily to close the orphanage and shove students on apartments and foster families. You can verify this on the example of the 39th orphanage. And not him alone.
Just 120 km from Moscow, in the Yaroslavl region is the Svyato-Alekseevskaya deserts. Under the leadership of hieromonk Peter (Vasilenko) it contains more than 200 children. Some of them are orphans, others live together with their mothers-single mothers, some with both parents, for whatever reason are not able to get into the complicated modern life. There live the monks and the priests. Live there and are just lonely old men and women.
In the desert very intensive spiritual life. Every day two people sing the Liturgy and procession, for more than 20 years or as long as there are deserts, its inhabitants day and night, every hour, one after another, continually read the Psalms. It's called Posypaem Psalm.
To teach children, there come the best teachers, professors from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl and other cities. In addition to the Law of God and the Church Slavonic language, children learn Greek, Latin. And in the desert there is a cadet corps, a lot of clubs, more than 20 of the most diverse museums — Church plate, paintings and drawings, archeology and paleontology, furniture and costume, East and space. This, incidentally, is a very interesting fact. We are accustomed to the fact that the Soviet tradition of Orthodox oppose, but here they exist in peace and harmony.
In addition to training and aesthetic education, the children are attached to physical work. To work where there is: 500 hectares of land, livestock and everything necessary for a full life in the rural environment. The rest of the guys are also very rich of archaeological, palaeontological and other scientific expeditions. In General, in the holidays, they are not idle.
As a result, the children get completely unique for our times and primarily by its soundness and comprehensiveness of the education. They not only know much, but know almost everything. They grow and bake their own bread, churning butter, make cheese, care for animals, prepare for winter meat, mushrooms, berries, pickles. In fact, it is the synthesis of theoretical and applied education which you can only dream of.
According to Irina Medvedeva, "these children are not just grown men, received a classical education and high culture, they become a real elite, "leaven" for our entire society. No "new Russian" for any millions of any closed Lyceum London your child to give you".
Why are we so in detail tell about the town of Noginsk? Yes, because the children live exactly as written in resolution No. 481.
"They are divided into families headed by caregivers, teachers, nuns or someone's parents, — says Irina Medvedeva. — There live children of different sex and age. But there is one major difference: everything in this Orthodox convent — upbringing, education, treatment, nutrition, rest — guys get free. We have no selfish interest, no notorious per capita financing".
But in public policy it is, and in this regard there are already problems.