Aid and assistance to families in difficult situations and homeless children

Social policy, including family and children assistance, is the top priority for Moscow. Moscow City Government, Moscow City Deputies are always striving to improve social assistance system for needy families and introduce new social and economic guarantees, in particular, by passing special laws and adopting various purpose-oriented programs. Social assistance begins with a future mother’s pregnancy and lasts till a child reaches the age of majority. Besides federal monetary payments (non-recurrent ones for pregnancy, labour and at child’s birth, and monthly childcare allowances), more than 30 kinds of allowances and compensations to different categories of families with children are paid in Moscow out of the municipal budget.

In Moscow compensatory payments to families with children were introduced on a phased basis, to the neediest categories of families with children — multi-children families, single mothers, student families, families with disabled children and some others. These payments are designed to cover families’ particular expenses: infant food, children’s goods, housing, public services, and telephone payments.

At present more than 310 thousand families (having 415 thousand children) receive compensatory payments. Monthly allowance for a child is provided only to needy families. Special allowances are granted for children of single mothers, children of the parents sought, children of appealed military men, children from common but unprivileged families. Special position in social security system is occupied by multi-children families, where three and more children were born and are being raised, including adopted ones, until the youngest one reaches the age of 16 years. Additional monetary payments and benefits are set for families with many children, which have 10 children and even more. Special payments and benefits are also set for families with disabled children.

The city social security system also has a network of departments on working with children in social service centres. Products, clothes and foot wear are provided free of charge there, holidays for children under age are organized. The city has a system of institutions for children under age, needing social rehabilitation. This system is based on the principles of openness and flexibility in choosing forms of rehabilitation. Children live in rehabilitation centres in the conditions, close to the homely ones, have an individual study program, and psychologists consult them. There they get independent life skills, which they will need in future, and may as well get to know different professions, decide which profession to choose in future. Social rehabilitation centres and orphanages accept children aged 3—18 years 24 hours a day.

Moscow City Government ensures provision of necessary help for homeless children, who have faced a hard life situation, regardless their place of residence, the family financial standing, and the reasons of their leaving it. The data base of street and neglected children, found on the territory of the city, is constantly growing (GRIS, The City distributed information system on accounting and identifying street and neglected children). At present the data base contains the information about more than 15000 children under age, facing a hard life situation. In the course of the years of various social centres work, the Muscovites have started treating social rehabilitation with respect and confidence: though just some years ago both children and adults avoided asking for help, now they know, where they may request assistance and more and more rarely try to solve serious difficulties on their own.

So that the right of every child to be raised and to live in a family was exercised, family educational groups are organized in rehabilitation centres and social hotels. The city has a 24-hour mobile service on rendering emergency care to children under age, which is a joint project with UNICEF, as well as the hotline on searching children under age disappeared.

Work with children is effected without their taking from the families. The institution specialists work not only with children, but also with their parents and other members of the family. Reestablishment of positive relationship between parents and children, assistance in getting out of a hard life situation, all this helps to defuse psychological tension in the family.