Preparing Foster Parents: What Competencies Are Needed Today to Raise a Foster Child

118

Abstract

The article is devoted to the discussion of the formation of new competencies for candidates for foster parents (adoptive parents, guardians, trustees, adoptive parents) necessary to create conditions for family care for foster children and represent their legitimate interests. The article presents the results of monitoring by the Ministry of Education of Russia (2019 and 2022) on the activities of Schools for foster parents in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The monitoring was carried out in order to study the compliance of the activities of authorized organizations with the requirements and recommendations of federal legislation, as well as the forms of work used in the preparation of potential candidates for foster parents. The monitoring analysis is supplemented by the data of a public opinion poll conducted among the participants of the All-Russian Forum of Foster Parents (2023), which revealed a trend towards an increase in the request from foster parents to change the content of the program of foster parents' schools, and also focused on topics in insufficient detail (according to according to the respondents) presented in the training program, but necessary for the effective management of situations related to the care of orphans and children left without parental care.

General Information

Keywords: foster child; orphans; school of foster parents; training of candidates for foster parents; competencies of foster parents; adoptive parents

Journal rubric: Pedagogy and Psychology of Education

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/ssc.2023040104

Acknowledgements. The authors are grateful to the Department of State Policy for the Protection of Children's Rights of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation for providing monitoring data, Doctor of Psychology G.V. Semya and the General Director of the ANO "Center for the Development of Social Projects" A.G. Popov.

Received: 04.07.2023

Accepted:

For citation: Merkul I.A., Mashkova D.V. Preparing Foster Parents: What Competencies Are Needed Today to Raise a Foster Child [Elektronnyi resurs]. Sotsial’nye nauki i detstvo = Social Sciences and Childhood, 2023. Vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 59–78. DOI: 10.17759/ssc.2023040104. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

References

  1. Alekhina I.V. Roditel'skaya kompetentnost': sushchnost' i soderzhanie [Parental competence: essence and content]. Razvitie sotsial'no-ustoichivoi innovatsionnoi sredy nepreryvnogo pedagogicheskogo obrazovaniya: sbornik materialov VII Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii, Abakan, 22 noyabrya 2019 goda [Development of a socially sustainable innovative environment of continuous pedagogical education: collection of materials of the VII International Scientific and Practical Conference, Abakan, November 22, 2019]. Abakan: FGBOU VO «Khakasskii gosudarstvennyi universitet im. N.F. Katanova» [Khakass State University named after N.F. Katanov], 2019, pp. 31–33.
  2. Volchanskaya V.O., Merkul' I.A. Osobennosti sotsial'no-psikhologicheskoi gotovnosti zameshchayushchikh roditelei k preodoleniyu trudnostei v vospitanii detei-sirot i detei, ostavshikhsya bez popecheniya roditelei, podrostkovogo vozrasta [Features of the Socio-Psychological Readiness of Substitute Parents to Overcome Difficulties in the Upbringing of Teenagers and Children Left Without Parental Care] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Sotsial’nye nauki i detstvo = Social Sciences and Childhood, 2021. Vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 60–72. DOI:10.17759/ssc.2021020105 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  3. Vserossiiskii forum priemnykh semei onlain – 2023 [All-Russian Forum of foster families online – 2023] [Electronic resource]. Usynovite.ru. [Adopt.ru], 2023. Available at: https://www.usynovite.ru/onlineforum/ (Accessed 15.05.2023).
  4. Kurochkina I.A., Shakhmatova O.N., Ushakova S.V. Psikhologicheskie osobennosti zameshchayushchego roditel'stva [Psychological features of substitute parenting]. Teoreticheskie i prikladnye aspekty sovremennoi nauki [Theoretical and applied aspects of modern science], 2014, no. 3-4, pp. 69–74.
  5. Luchshie regional'nye praktiki deyatel'nosti organov opeki i popechitel'stva, a takzhe po podgotovke i psikhologicheskomu obsledovaniyu lits, zhelayushchikh prinyat' v svoyu sem'yu rebenka, po soprovozhdeniyu zameshchayushchikh semei [The best regional practices of the guardianship and guardianship authorities, as well as for the preparation and psychological examination of persons wishing to adopt a child into their family, for accompanying substitute families] [Elektronnyi resurs]. FRTs opeki i popechitel'stva [FRC guardianship and Guardianship], 2021. Available at: https://frcopeca.ru/methodical-materials/ (Accessed 23.02.2023).
  6. Mashkova D.V. Azbuka schastlivoi sem'i. 30 urokov osoznannogo roditel'stva [The ABC of a happy family. 30 lessons of conscious parenting]. Moscow: Eksmo, 2023. 528 p.
  7. Merkul' I.A. Indeks detskogo blagopoluchiya v Rossii: aktual'nye voprosy, razrabotki i perspektivy razvitiya (obzor po itogam mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii «Perspektivy vnedreniya indeksa detskogo blagopoluchiya v Rossii») [Current Issues of Development and Development Prospects (Review of the Results of the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Prospects for the Introduction of the Index of Child Well-being in Russia”) [Elektronnyi resurs]. Sotsial’nye nauki i detstvo = Social Sciences and Childhood, 2022. Vol. 3, no. 2-3, pp. 139–147. DOI:10.17759/ssc.2022030210 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  8. Merkul' I.A. Formirovanie psikhologo-pedagogicheskoi kompetentnosti roditelya u studentov vuza: dissertatsiya ... kandidata psikhologicheskikh nauk. [Formation of psychological and pedagogical competence of a parent among university students. Ph. D. (Psychology) Thesis]. Moscow, 2012. 266 p.
  9. Merkul' I.A., Volchanskaya V.O. Aktual'nye problemy sotsializatsii detei-sirot, detei, ostavshikhsya bez popecheniya roditelei, i lits iz chisla detei-sirot [Socialization Problems in Orphans and Children Without Parental Care]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2021. Vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 189–199. DOI:10.17759/pse.2021260615 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  10. Oslon V.N. Zameshchayushchaya professional'naya sem'ya kak odna iz modelei resheniya problemy sirotstva v Rossii [Substitute professional family as one of the models for solving the problem of orphanhood in Russia]. Voprosy psikhologii [Questions of psychology], 2001, no. 3, pp. 79–90.
  11. Oslon V.N. K kontseptsii psikhologicheskogo soprovozhdeniya zameshchayushchei sem'i [The Concept of Psychological Support for Substitute Family]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2009. Vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 44–53. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  12. Oslon V.N., Sem'ya G.V., Prokop'eva L.M., Kolesnikova U.V. Operatsional'naya model' i instrumentarii dlya izucheniya sub"ektivnogo blagopoluchiya detei-sirot i detei, ostavshikhsya bez popecheniya roditelei [Operational Model and Tools for Studying Subjective Well-Being of Orphans and Children Without Parental Care]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2020. Vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 41–50. DOI:10.17759/pse.2020250604 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  13. Oslon V.N., Sem'ya G.V., Prokop'eva L.M., Kolesnikova U.V. Struktura sub"ektivnogo blagopoluchiya detei-sirot s OVZ mladshego shkol'nogo vozrasta, vospityvayushchikhsya v organizatsiyakh dlya detei-sirot i detei, ostavshikhsya bez popecheniya roditelei [Structure of Subjective Well-being of Primary-School-Age Orphan Children with Disabilities Living in Orphanage Institutions and of Children Deprived of Parental Care] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologiya i pravo = Psychology and Law, 2021. Vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 205–221. DOI:10.17759/psylaw.2021110315 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  14. Postanovlenie Pravitel'stva RF ot 24 maya 2014 g. № 481 «O deyatel'nosti organizatsii dlya detei-sirot i detei, ostavshikhsya bez popecheniya roditelei, i ob ustroistve v nikh detei, ostavshikhsya bez popecheniya roditelei» (red. ot 19.04.2022) [Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 481 dated May 24, 2014 "On the activities of organizations for orphans and children left without parental care, and on the placement of children left without parental care in them" (ed. from 04/19/2022)] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Konsul'tantPlyus [ConsultantPlus], 2014. Available at: http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_163487/ (Accessed 23.02.2023).
  15. Prikaz Minobrnauki Rossii ot 13.03.2015 N 235 «Ob utverzhdenii Poryadka organizatsii i osushchestvleniya deyatel'nosti po podgotovke lits, zhelayushchikh prinyat' na vospitanie v svoyu sem'yu rebenka, ostavshegosya bez popecheniya roditelei» (Zaregistrirovano v Minyuste Rossii 8 maya 2015 g. N 37205) [Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated 13.03.2015 N 235 "On approval of the Procedure for organizing and carrying out activities for the training of persons wishing to adopt a child left without parental care into their family" (Registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on May 8, 2015 N 37205)] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Konsul'tantPlyus [ConsultantPlus], 2015. Available at: http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_179446/2ff7a8c72de3994f30496a0ccbb1ddafdaddf518/ (Accessed 23.02.2023).
  16. Prikaz Minobrnauki Rossii ot 20.08.2012 N 623 «Ob utverzhdenii trebovanii k soderzhaniyu programmy podgotovki lits, zhelayushchikh prinyat' na vospitanie v svoyu sem'yu rebenka, ostavshegosya bez popecheniya roditelei, i formy svidetel'stva o prokhozhdenii takoi podgotovki na territorii Rossiiskoi Federatsii» (Zaregistrirovano v Minyuste Rossii 27.08.2012 N 25269) [Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated 08/20/2012 N 623 "On approval of the requirements for the content of the training program for persons wishing to adopt a child left without parental care into their family and the form of a certificate of such training on the Territory of the Russian Federation" (Registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on 08/27/2012 and N 25269)] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Konsul'tantPlyus [ConsultantPlus], 2012. Available at: http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_134551/ (Accessed 23.02.2023).
  17. Prikhozhan A.M. Psikhologiya sirotstva [Psychology of orphanhood] by A.M. Prikhozhan, N.N. Tolstykh. 2nd ed. St. Petersburg: Piter, 2005. 400 p.
  18. Rasporyazhenie Pravitel'stva Rossiiskoi Federatsii ot 11.11.2022 N 3427-r «Ob utverzhdenii sistemy statisticheskikh pokazatelei, kharakterizuyushchikh khod vypolneniya meropriyatii, provodimykh v ramkakh Desyatiletiya detstva» [Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 11.11.2022 N 3427-r "On approval of the system of statistical indicators characterizing the progress of activities carried out within the framework of the Decade of Childhood"] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Konsul'tantPlyus [ConsultantPlus], 2022. Available at: http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_431248/f62ee45faefd8e2a11d6d88941ac66824f848bc2/ (Accessed 23.02.2023).
  19. Rubtsov V.V., Sem'ya G.V., Shvedovskaya A.A. Vyzovy sovremennogo detstva: klyuchevye rezul'taty realizatsii Natsional'noi strategii deistvii v interesakh detei [Challenges of Modern Childhood: Key Outcomes of the National Strategy on Action for Children]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2017. Vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 5–24. DOI:10.17759/pse.2017220601 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  20. Svedeniya po forme federal'nogo statisticheskogo nablyudeniya № 103-RIK «Svedeniya o vyyavlenii i ustroistve detei-sirot i detei, ostavshikhsya bez popecheniya roditelei» za 2022 god [Information on the form of Federal statistical observation No. 103-RIK "Information on the identification and placement of orphans and children left without parental care" for 2022] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Bank dokumentov Ministerstva prosveshcheniya Rossiiskoi Federatsii [Bank of documents of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation], 2023. Available at: https://docs.edu.gov.ru/document/8cf2e493bcd6bf43ba790f5b5d1170f1/ (Accessed 23.02.2023).
  21. Sem'ya G.V. Problema sirotstva v Rossii: ekonomicheskii i sotsial'nyi aspekty [The problem of orphanhood in Russia: economic and social aspects]. Informatsionno-metodicheskii zhurnal «Priemnaya sem'ya» [Information and methodological journal "Foster family"], 2013, no. 2, pp. 9–14.
  22. Sem'ya G.V. Psikhologicheskaya zashchishchennost' detei, ostavshikhsya bez popecheniya roditelei, v usloviyakh institutsionalizatsii i zameshchayushchei sem'i [Psychological Safety of Children Left without Parental Care under the Conditions of Institutionalization or a Substitute Family]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2009. Vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 24–32. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  23. Telitsyna A.Yu. Sotsial'naya adaptatsiya detei-sirot i detei, ostavshikhsya bez popecheniya roditelei, v zameshchayushchikh sem'yakh [Social Adaptation of Orphans and Children left without Parental Care in Substitute Families] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Sotsial’nye nauki i detstvo = Social Sciences and Childhood, 2021. Vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 84–95. DOI:10.17759/ssc.2021020207 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  24. Ukaz Prezidenta RF ot 01.06.2012 N 761 «O Natsional'noi strategii deistvii v interesakh detei na 2012–2017 gody» [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 01.06.2012 N 761 "On the national strategy of actions in the interests of children for 2012-2017"] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Konsul'tantPlyus [ConsultantPlus], 2012. Available at: http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_163487/ (Accessed 23.02.2023).
  25. Khrustal'kova N.A. Formirovanie pedagogicheskoi kompetentnosti roditelei professional'no-zameshchayushchei sem'i: dissertatsiya doktora pedagogicheskikh nauk [Formation of pedagogical competence of parents of a professional substitute family. Dr. Sci. (Pedagogy) diss.], 2009. 489 p.
  26. Shkoly osoznannykh roditelei «AZBUKA SEM''I» [Schools of conscious parents "ABC of the FAMILY"] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Smarteka ASI. 2023. Available at: https://smarteka.com/practices/skoly-osoznannyh-roditelej-azbuka-semi (Accessed 23.02.2023).
  27. Shul'ga T.I. Osnovnye trudnosti v deyatel'nosti spetsialistov sluzhb soprovozhdeniya zameshchayushchikh semei [The Main Difficulties in the Activities of the Specialists of the Substitute Family Support Services] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Sotsial’nye nauki i detstvo = Social Sciences and Childhood, 2021. Vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 69–83. DOI:10.17759/ssc.2021020206 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
  28. Humphreys K.L., Miron D., McLaughlin K.A., Sheridan M.A., Nelson C.A., Fox N.A., Zeanah C.H. Foster care promotes adaptive functioning in early adolescence among children who experienced severe, early deprivation. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2018. Vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 811–231. DOI:10.1111/jcpp.12865
  29. Kaasbøll J., Lassemo E., Paulsen V., Melby L., Osborg S.O. Foster parents' needs, perceptions and satisfaction with foster parent training: A systematic literature review. Children and Youth Services Review, 2019. Vol. 101, pp. 33–41. DOI:10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.03.041

Information About the Authors

Irina A. Merkul, PhD in Psychology, Senior lecturer, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3808-6076, e-mail: merkul07@mail.ru

Diana V. Mashkova, PhD in Philology, founder, ANO "ABC’s of Family", IPPC RAE "Institute for the Study of Childhood, Family and Upbringing", Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8727-4597, e-mail: diana@azbukasemi.ru

Metrics

Views

Total: 771
Previous month: 68
Current month: 27

Downloads

Total: 118
Previous month: 13
Current month: 4