On February 8, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. Two family-type children's homes will be built in the Vitebsk region this year, Ivan Shchurok, head of the education department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, told a BELTA correspondent.
The construction of homes for families raising orphans and children left without parental care will be carried out under the presidential program "Children of Belarus" in the urban settlement of Vidzy, Braslav district, and the agro-town of Orekhovno, Ushachi district. Br2.4 billion is planned to be allocated for their construction based on the equal participation of funds from the republican and regional budgets.
The number of family-type children's homes in the Vitebsk region increased from four in 2007 to 17 in 2011. Currently, 110 children are being raised in them.
Touching upon the issue of placing orphans and children left without parental care, Ivan Shchurok emphasized that Decree No. 18 of November 24, 2006, played a decisive role in systematizing work with family dysfunction. "With its adoption, an interdepartmental mechanism was formed to preserve the family, increase parental responsibility for child-rearing, and prevent social orphanhood. A system has been created to identify children whose parents do not properly fulfill their duties," the head of the department stated. He also noted that over the five years of the decree's implementation in the Vitebsk region, 21.2 thousand children were recognized by educational institutions as being in a socially dangerous situation, of which 72.5% were removed from this situation after educators, with the involvement of employees from other interested services, implemented assistance plans for such children.
In addition, during the period of the decree's implementation, 3.3 thousand children (719 in 2011) were removed from parents who were unwilling to cooperate with state bodies and change their attitude towards children, by decision of the commission for juvenile affairs. These children required state protection due to the threat to their lives and health. Of these, 1.8 thousand children (61.2%) were returned to their biological families, including 370 in 2011.
Currently, 332 children recognised as being in need of state protection from 205 families are undergoing rehabilitation in the region. Interdepartmental work is being carried out with respect to their parents to eliminate factors threatening the children's lives and health. "The experience of interdepartmental work within the framework of the decree has shown that parents deprived of parental rights can change their attitude towards their children," emphasised Ivan Shchurok. For example, during the period the decree has been in effect, parental rights to 270 children have been restored to residents of the region. Furthermore, the implementation of the decree has made it possible to reduce the number of children removed from parents by court decision by 40%, to reduce the number of child abandonments threefold, and to begin addressing the issue of the phased closure of boarding institutions. Over 5 years, their number in the region has decreased from 15 to 11 institutions, or by 27%. At the same time, the contingent of pupils in boarding institutions has decreased by 45%.
Currently, active work is underway in the Vitebsk region to implement the right of children to live in a family. Last year, 69.1% of newly identified children left without parental care were placed in families for upbringing. A total of 61% of children in this category are being raised in family-based care, added the head of the education department.-0-
BELTA