In response to the President’s instruction, the Commissioner’s Office continues the National Inspection for Social Orphanhood Prevention System initiative. In September, the inspection team worked in the Murmansk Region auditing the local institutions, child protection and guardianship authorities, as well as commissions on juvenile affairs and minors’ rights.
During a meeting with Governor Andrei Chibis, Maria Lvova-Belova noted that the aim of the inspection is to ensure that as few children as possible are raised in institutions and that as many stable families as possible receive the necessary support. Plans are in place to reconfigure the work of child protection services to be more family-oriented and focused on preserving families, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights emphasised.
The commissioner noted the positive practices in place in the Murmansk Region, which could be scaled to other regions, including opening the social educator position for families in socially dangerous situations.
Maria Lvova-Belova also chaired an expanded meeting with the heads of regional bodies and institutions involved in the prevention of neglect and juvenile delinquency, as well as members of the Commission on Juvenile Affairs and Minors’ Rights. At the meeting, recommendations were given based on the results of the monitoring conducted by the inspection team.
In addition, the commissioner visited the Murmansk Regional Children’s Home, which focuses on children with organic damage to the central nervous system and mental disorders, the Murmansk Centre for Social Assistance to Families and Children, including its crisis department for women. She also personally met with local residents seeking consultations on related matters.