Reforming Child Welfare in the Post-Soviet Space: Institutional Change in Russia

This book provides new and empirically grounded research-based knowledge and insights into the current transformation of the Russian child welfare system. It focuses on the shift from deinstitutionalization to fostering and adoption, analyzing the consequences for children, young people, and foster and birth parents. It offers a model for understanding this process in the post-Soviet space.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 252 pages
Publication date: 29 April 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book offers groundbreaking research-based knowledge and insights into the ongoing transformation of the Russian child welfare system. It delves into the significant shift in Russia's child welfare policy, which involves the deinstitutionalization of the system of children's homes inherited from the Soviet era and a significant increase in fostering and adoption. The book is organized into four sections, each exploring different aspects of this transformation.

The first section examines the changing role and function of residential institutions within the Russian child welfare system. It explores the historical background, current status, and challenges faced by these institutions. The second section focuses on the rapidly developing form of alternative care in foster families. It discusses the policies, practices, and challenges associated with foster care, as well as the efforts made to support and empower foster families.

The third section explores the work undertaken with birth families, including family preservation and reunification services. It examines the factors that contribute to family breakdown, the strategies used to address them, and the outcomes achieved. The fourth section provides a model for understanding the deinstitutionalization process across the post-Soviet space. It analyzes the consequences of deinstitutionalization and its effects on children, young people, foster and birth parents, and society as a whole.

The book is written in a clear and accessible style, making it suitable for academics and students of social work, sociology, child welfare, social policy, political science, and Russian and East European politics more broadly. It offers valuable insights into the complex issues surrounding child welfare and provides a basis for developing effective policies and practices to improve the well-being of children and families in Russia and beyond.

Weight: 470g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367556440