I he draft was posted at the I lealth Care and Social Development Ministry's website

http://www.mzsrrf.ru/doc_cole^2l.html.

http:/A\A\Av.s()\etpamfilova.m/lext/l05l/.

http://www.sovetpamfilova.ru/text/1238/.

htlp://www.mzsnlni/prciv_prikaz/83.hlnil

"' IM
activity pattern of the government bodies best seen at the lederal level.

For example, the lederal program "Children of Russia in 2003-2006'"

comprises an already endorsed federal subprogram "Prevention of

Children Neglect and Juvenile Delinquency" aiming to build the basis

for an integrated solution relative to the prevention of children neglect

and juvenile delinquency, their social rehabilitation.

Reports on the implementation of this program testify about the

inability of government bodies to appropriately plan their actions.

Program efficiency is evaluated by the value of purchased equipment

and reports about sponsored competitions, summer camps (which is

not bad in itself, however, it narrows down the government's responsibility

to a mere organization of summer vacations). Accordingly, efficiency

is measured as a range of sen ices provided while it should be

measured as satisfaction of the target audience's needs in such services.

With this approach, the number of parties "interested" in the

services will inevitably grow with the passage of time. The source

quotes no tangible results from the program's implementation evidencing

any improvement in the situation. Moreover, in the last 2

years (since July 2001). the website doesn't say anything at all about

the implementation of the above program.

The above information is a good illustration of the fact that the current

status of systemic and complex activities leaves much to be

desired.

2. Scientific and Educational (Methodological) Approach

This approach is based on extensive research work oi educational

and methodological nature based both on the researchers' (teachers

and psychologists') own modest experience and on complex systemic

research carried out lor many years by many Soviel and later Russian

R&D institutions.

Considerable volume of earlier humanitarian research in this field

may not be always acceptable in today's situation because ol its heavy

The information was posted at the wehsiti ol ilu <. 1

In и slriieture.html

(-,9 \H >s«, i\\ s |; \|| \\ \i STATU IN CHILDREN

"WORKING Will I W I T H AT RISK" s u r - N-.ur | U

ideological bias, very typical for the Soviet era. Nevertheless, some of

this research does look interesting.

2.1 The Youth at Risk (2003-2006) program for the city of

Stavropol was devised by the municipal educational center and may be

regarded as a significant step in the right direction relative to the

development of solid material and its practical approbation. The information

posted at http://ceutrobr.stavedu.ru/eks/risk.htni relative to

this project and other research (http://centrobr.stavedu.ru/) is aiming

to create conditions for personality development, prevention of juvenile

delinquency, provision of individual assistance to a person, family

of group finding themselves in a difficult situation.

2.2 Prospective lecturing expc rience has been accumulated at the

Faculty of Sociology of Saint-Petersburg State University. The faculty's

Center lor scientific social research and student initiatives operates

as a site for refining and implementing the models of interdepartmental

interaction between the government and

non-government social protection institutions and the municipal

authorities. The main field of activity is organizing work with children

and their families. The Center's website provides extensive information

on the various activities of the faculty's lecturers and students:

http://www.soc.pu.ru/inf/cspvvsi.slitml. The students take an active

part in the implementation of a number of projects ranging from work

with street children (2001) to the study of social and technological

ispects of juvenile justice within the framework of the International

conference held in the beginning of 2006.

2.3. Another department at Saint-Petersburg State University —

the Faculty for retraining of social workers and sociologists offers a

short-term 78-hour retraining course titled "Social Protection of

I. i m i I у and Children" (http://sociology.net.rLi/scminars/new_children.

doc). A lairly spacious approach to the issue of children and family

rights protection and the fact that the course offers an interpretation

of existing experience in initial implementation of juvenile justice

elements in Russia merit special attention.

2.4 The materials on juvenile justice provided by the Rostov branch

of Russian Justice Academy (http://www.rfrap.ru/uvenal/) and the

juvenile justice portal (http://vv\v\v.juveuilejustice.ru/) appear fairly
interesting. While the portal is excessively focused on regional events,

it remains an interesting and useful information resource providing

evidence of extensive research and significant hands on activities carried

out by a regional educational institution with the purpose of

establishing and developing Russia's juvenile justice system.

Successful introduction of juvenile courts within the framework of the

experiment carried out in the Rostov region in the last few years creates

the basis for disseminating the experiment's outputs to other

Russian territories and expanding the overall scope of specialized juvenile

proceeding's.

2.5 Of certain interest is the survey conducted by Independent

Institute lor social policies (Khabarovsk)' krai) on the issue of homeless

and neglected children as well as efforts to address these negative

phenomena: (http://www.socpol.ru/grantprog/pdf/Baykov.pdf). The

survey came to interesting conclusions relating to the target group

stratification, the authorities' altitude to existing problems, including

a very limited and specific character of inter-departmental cooperation,

and to "the anomic condition of managerial mentality, its controversial

and paradoxical character". As an example, the survey highlights

a formally democratic approach proclaiming the need to protect

the child and family's interests and a simultaneous orientation to a

more severe punishment.

2.t> It should be noted that not all materials prepared by government

and especially non-government bodies (including materials

based on own experience) represent an appropriately consolidated and

formulated product. It's not unusual lor methodological materials to

have certain defects basically stemming from the lack of hands-on

experience on the part of methodologists. The worst scenario however

is when a solid and logically structured material is never implemented

due to bureaucracy of the government mechanism. This deficiency

hinders the implementation of already existing development potential.

In this context, one document worth mentioning would be a

methodological handbook titled "Organizing Interaction between

Juvenile Institutions for Social Rehabilitation and \(i<)s I)ealing with

Children Neglect" which was compiled and published in 2002 by the

Social Development Ministry's R&D Institute for Family Affairs

I, i V|i ISI (>W s KMIVV VV STATION CHH.DRKN

"WORKING WITH VOI THAI RISK" series. Issue 10

(h t t p: / / f i le.opekainfo.ru/dl/uploads/Coordination.doe). It's a pity

that the now reformed Ministry for Health Care and Social

Development never showed any interest in this document...

Some key indicators of effective scientific and educationalmethodologic

documents are as follows:

• Accumulation of usefull hands-on experience based on experience

from other Russian regions and abroad;

• Innovative adaptability;

• Active participation of all interested parties in the process of creating

a new product;

• A tolerant (non-repressive (solution encouraging socialization.

3. Practical (Applied) Approach

The issues relating to direct practical assistance to neglected and

homeless children at the grassroots level are tackled by quite a few

government (municipal) and non-govcmbmeiit organizations operating

in various Russian regions.

Experience gained by these organizations appears important in

many aspects since it allows, in direct contact with the target audience

and adjacent groups, to identify the main reasons for children neglect

and homelessiiess, trace the causc-and-effect relation between these

phenomena and such social pests as drug addiction and crime (both

related to minors and committed by minors).

3.1 The experience accumulated by the NAN Foundation's

Stavropol branch appears very useful. Practical and highly effective

activity at specific sites is combined with fairly advanced educational

programs implemented by the branch throughout Russia's Southern

Federal District and is consolidated in informative and professionally

structured handbooks. (See the NAN Bulletin at http://nanstv.

uarod.ru/PDF/vita 1.pdf).

3.2 Practical social work carried out in various regions at the

grassroots level varies from the the most basic and day-to-day

social services (such as fairly high-profile activity by the Committee

for Civil Rights led by A.Babushkin, providing assistance to homeless

children in central Moscow — http://www.hro.org/child/) to
somewhat exotic ones (as the program offered by the non-government

charity organization Uppsala Circus from Saint - Petersburg —

h11p://www.ndс.оrg.ru/erno/eurasia/39.rtf) оrgailizing public

events to encourage socially-acceptable forms of children behavior.

There's a bit of controversy about the lasting effect of this activity —

it can't be ruled out that homeless children will thus be encouraged

lo stay on the street.

There's no doubt that assistance to the children finding themselves

alone in a huge megapolis is extremely important, however, to

be efficient and keep pace with the dramatic development of the homeless

children situation in today's Russia, it should be supported by an

appropriate systematic work of government bodies.

Experience gained in the course of work started in 1990s by the

NAN Foundation in Gagarinsky and Cheriomushkinsky courts of

Moscow and by some NGOs and experts in the Rostov region, Saint-

Petersburg, Saratov, Tyumen, Dzerzhinsk, Perm and Irkutsk (with a

gradual clarification of prospects for building a system of juvenile juslice)

is becoming the basis for creating practical mechanisms for constructing

the links between the public and the government relative to

juvenile delinquency situation.

Based on that experience, one might distinguish two models of

pilot projects The first one implements the new approach through judicial

authority (in Rostov-na-Donu, Saint-Peterburg, Saratov). It's

used lor testing new operation models for courts. Commissions on

juvenile affairs and protection of minors' rights with the participation

oi social workers. A number of such projects have resulted in formulating

new duties for amicus curiae. However, the participation of

NGOs is fairly limited or totally absent.

The second model implies a significantly wider systemic involvement

of NGOs thoughout the entire process of control, search for

effective solution and provision of social services to the target audience

(the NAN Foundation and its regional branches, other public and notfor-

profit organizations promoting juvenile technology:

http://www.nan.ru/?f=document/index&d=document/2prof) and

creates a prototype of relationship between the stale and the public.

It's used for testing implementation models lor various programs real-