Two-thirds of experts have seen adopted children being returned to institutions over the past year

26.11.2024

Article published on the ASI website

This is one of the results of a study carried out by the Here and Now charity for Assistance to Orphans and the Mediascope research company.

The research, which has been seen by ASI’s editorial staff, was conducted during August and September this year and involved more than 250 specialists – practising psychologists, social workers and caregivers.

The study showed that specialists work with, on average, 14-20 families each year. Only 29% of respondents were unaware that adopted children of foster families have been sent back to institutions. However, such cases are rare: usually one or two per year.

According to experts, the most frequent reasons given for these returns are parents’ inflated expectations for their children and subsequent disappointment, a child’s psychiatric diagnosis and lack of social support.

Eighty-five percent of respondents believe that people who adopt children do so because they want to give them the chance of a better life.

Nearly a third of those asked said they regularly encounter parents who are not prepared to work with their child and instead entrust full responsibility to a specialist. Another half stated that they had experienced similar attitudes from time to time.

Families are also facing a number of issues. The fact that there are very few specialists in Russia who work with foster families was mentioned by 79% of respondents. Another 77% said that foster families often have issues with their child’s late development and problems with their studies.

Foster families mainly turn to experts to help with three issues: a child’s delinquent behaviour, education problems and caregiver burn-out. Only 41% of those surveyed said they had been asked for support with problems linked to orphanhood experiences and abandonment.

According to the study’s authors, the information gathered will help to create an overall picture of the current situation.

“The results from this research could be pivotal in developing a systematic approach to assisting all the key players in this process, from young people to lawmakers. Their task is to highlight the complex aspects of the lives of children left without parental care and to have a constructive dialogue about how these children can be helped in the long run”, said Tatyana Tulchinskaya, founder of the Here and Now charity.

There are plans to use this data to develop new strategies and improve the effectiveness of existing support measures, not only for orphans but also for guardians, foster families and specialists working with children left without parental care.

Source: https://asi.org.ru/news/2024/11/26/dve-treti-speczialistov-stalkivalis-s-vozvratom-usynovlennyh-detej-v-uchrezhdeniya-za-poslednij-god/?utm_order_number=1over the past year