Deinstitutionalization of orphanhood and the development of services for foster families

This work continues a series of studies devoted to monitoring the deinstitutionalization reform of orphanhood in Russia. The research information base includes data from Rosstat, statistical forms, the Federal Data Bank on children without parental care, as well as in-depth interviews with foster parents and experts in the field of placing children without parental care. We begin by highlighting the substantive levels of the reform and the latest directions of its development, and also show the progress of its implementation through quantitative indicators of the dynamics in the field of placing children without parental care. We conclude that published statistics on orphanhood poorly reflect the objectives of the reform and its achievements. Slowing down the decline in the institutional population of children without parental care requires new measures. In the article, based on in-depth interviews, we explore the formation of the service sector for foster families. In this area, the state is intensifying its efforts as a direct provider of services. But so far, there is competition between the public and non-profit sectors where there should be complementation and mixed production of goods.