Paper
Better outcomes for children - is that an unquestioning goal? Some news from the Russian family placements battlefield
- issue: Issue 3 / 2009
- authors: Maria Ternovskaya
- keywords: children, outcomes
- views: 3307
- downloaded: 0
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abstract
Background
Russian deinstitutionalization and transition to family-based care is full of dramatic events, disputes and trends. The routes of all disputes lie in a different understanding of the main goal of intervention or governmental action for child protection. "Better outcomes for children" is not the only or the first goal nor a primary value.
It appears that the level of understanding of the actual goal is very different, partly because of a different system of personal values, lack of professional awareness, or professional values and well developed stereotypes. For example, the following are possible aims of a family placement service activity:
- placing a child with a family (how to measure outcomes: only the numbers of placements are essential);
- placing a child with a permanent family, i.e. adoptive one (outcomes: the numbers of adoptions are essential);
- placing a child with a permanent family and in an easiest way for the family and fully confidentially (outcome: the less we "hear" about the outcomes the more normal they are)
- placing a child with respect to the safety (outcomes: numbers of safe placements);
- better outcomes for child development what in its turn could be finding a family and be sure the developmental needs of the child are met in the best way (numbers of placements that have the best outcomes for children with regards to their development).
The choice of the aim will affect the law, the strategy and the actual procedure to reach it as the choice of the staff needed and resources allocated.
The dilemma for Russia now is to provide a family for the child, with less involvement from outside and with minimum costs and responsibilities for the services. The child is a goal - a costly professional service with lots of responsibilities "for outcomes".
The paper will address this issue in a Russian context: why it is so, where it leaves the Russian family placement system and the results of both main trends.
There will be a focus on the Our Family fostering project in Moscow. Its 12-years old practice has given 95% of successful permanent foster care placements, 7% placements breakdown and a normalization (within the physical limits) of child development in all the children. Materials developed in England, such as Looking After Children and the Integrated Children's System have been adapted for use in Russia in order to monitor a child's progress.
Contact details
Maria Ternovskaya, Director, Our Family, Moscow (Foster Care Centre based at the orphanage No19 and The Our Family Charitable Foundation)