Right to education
Every citizen of the Russian Federation has the right to receive free basic general education. This category of citizens has the right to receive higher and secondary specialized education with the following benefits:
- children enter an educational institution outside of show jumping;
- enrollment is free of charge upon successful passing of exams;
- non-resident students are provided with a dormitory;
- children are provided with an increased social stipend;
- once a year free travel to the place of study from another locality;
- the internship is paid for by the organization at 100% of the established salary of the enterprise;
- The state annually allocates money for the purchase of teaching aids.
Attention! Orphans, like other students, can be expelled from an educational institution for violating discipline and regulations.
Forms of family arrangement for orphans
According to the provisions of Art. 123 of the RF IC, domestic legislation provides for 4 possible forms of family placement for children deprived of parental care: adoption, guardianship and trusteeship, patronage and foster family. If such a placement is not possible, the child is transferred to an organization for orphans. Problems and ways to solve them related to identifying such children, as well as placing minors in families, are found by guardianship authorities. To fully understand the issue, let’s consider the shape of the device in more detail.
Adoption of orphans
Adoption is a priority form of family placement for orphans, as it allows a child to almost completely replace his parents. Adoption, according to Art. 125 of the RF IC, is established by a court decision: as a result of such a judicial act, legal ties arise between the adopted person and the adoptive parent, characteristic of biological parents and children.
However, in relation to blood parents in the case of adoption, such ties are lost. This, in particular, concerns the rights and obligations regulated by Section IV of the RF IC. Thus, only after adoption can children succeed their adoptive parents as legal heirs, and the adoptive parents receive the right to assign their surname to the child.
The law allows the adoption of only minor children, and when they reach the age of 10, their consent is required for this. At the same time, it is possible to adopt a child only subject to the consent of his biological parents, as well as the compliance of the potential adoptive parent with the requirements of Art. 127 RF IC.
Read more about adoption.
Guardianship and trusteeship
Guardianship and trusteeship, according to Art. 2 Federal Law No. 48 of April 24, 2008, should be considered a form of family arrangement for young and minor children deprived of parental care, for the purpose of their maintenance and upbringing, as well as the protection of their rights and interests. The differences between these forms are only in the age of the children: guardianship - up to 14 years, guardianship - 14-18 years.
Guardianship and trusteeship are established by an act of the guardianship authority on the basis of an application from a person wishing to become a guardian or trustee. Only adults with legal capacity who meet the requirements of Art. 146 RF IC. At the same time, close relatives of children have priority if they wish to become guardians or trustees. Guardianship is often used as a bridge before adoption.
The law distinguishes between two forms of guardianship and trusteeship - simple and compensated. The difference between the first and the second is that in the second, the guardian enters into an appropriate agreement with the guardianship authorities, according to which he receives remuneration. The law defines two forms of paid guardianship: patronage and foster family.
Patronage as a form of paid guardianship
Possibility of patronage, according to Art. 14 Federal Law No. 48 dated April 24, 2008, is established in each subject of the federation by regional legislation. Patronage exists in more than 50 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
Foster care provides for the transfer of a child to a family for upbringing under the terms of a special agreement concluded between the guardianship authorities and the foster carer. A key feature of foster care is the division of educational functions between the guardianship authorities, the teacher and, possibly, even biological parents.
As in the case of ordinary guardianship, the child does not acquire any family ties with the teacher, and in some cases even maintains normal relations with his blood parents. The child retains all payments and benefits guaranteed to him as an orphan. At the same time, for his upbringing, the foster carer receives a remuneration established by regional law.
Find out more about what patronage is.
Adoptive family
A foster family, according to Art. 152 of the RF IC, guardianship or trusteeship of a child is recognized, carried out under an agreement between the adoptive parents and the guardianship authority. As in the case of foster care, parents receive compensation for raising children. Orphans in foster families do not acquire family ties with their parents, being in their care until the end of the concluded agreement or reaching adulthood. The maximum number of children in such a family, including relatives, should not exceed 8 people. All orphans placed in foster families retain their previously established benefits and payments.
Potential adoptive parents are subject to the same requirements as guardians. Their selection and preparation are carried out by the guardianship authorities on the basis of the application submitted by the candidates. They also monitor the proper performance of the guardianship functions assigned to the parent.
Read more about foster families.
Right to housing
To obtain preferential housing rights you must:
- Compliance with age restrictions is up to 23 years.
- Lack of registration.
- Lack of suitable housing.
- Living in the same living space with persons who have been deprived of parental rights.
Alexey Pavlov
Lawyer, ready to answer your questions.
For your information! If there is no housing space, local governments are obliged to provide housing out of turn for a period of 5 years.
To obtain housing you need the following documents:
- statement;
- copy of the passport;
- certificate from the orphanage;
- certificate of absence of living space;
- certificate of orphanhood;
- additional documents that the guardianship authorities may request.
Important! After contacting the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, the question is raised about placing the citizen on the waiting list. That is why they often do not receive an apartment immediately after leaving the orphanage.
Regulatory framework
The basis of the legislative framework in this matter is the Constitution of the Russian Federation - it is precisely the provisions of Art. 38 establishes state protection of motherhood, childhood and family. The priority of family education of children, responsibilities for protecting their rights and interests, as well as the form of state protection in case of orphanhood are detailed in the provisions of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.
Chapter 18 of the RF IC defines the functions of guardianship authorities in matters of identifying and ensuring the right to education for orphans. Chapters 19-21 of the RF IC define the regulatory framework for the implementation of the main forms of family placement for orphans, and Chapter 22 - the procedure for placing such children in shelters and boarding schools.
Regulatory acts that provide a number of additional guarantees for orphans require special attention. This is, in particular, Federal Law No. 159 dated December 21, 1996. One cannot ignore the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated December 28, 2012 No. 1688, which is designed to improve state policy in the field of protecting orphans.
The Civil and Family Codes, as well as the Federal Law of April 24, 2008 No. 48 “On guardianship and trusteeship,” deal with issues of family or other arrangements for orphans. It is worth noting that a number of issues relating, in particular, to additional benefits and material support, are regulated by the legislation of the constituent entities of the federation.
Protection of the rights of orphans and children left without parental care
The responsibilities of the state represented by specialized bodies are:
- Registration and detection of orphans.
- Search for guardians.
- Determination of children into families.
- Monitoring the living conditions and development of the child.
State control is carried out from the moment of registration of children until the age of 23.
The state has created an entire system for protecting the rights of orphans and children left without parental care. Every child has social guarantees that contribute to his favorable development.
Alexey Pavlov
Lawyer, ready to answer your questions.
If you need
a free consultation on the rights of orphans, or you are faced with a violation of them, contact our experienced lawyers by phone or through an online consultant. They will answer your questions and offer solutions.
Ministry for the Family
By July, the government must identify a federal authority that will develop and implement state policy in the field of protecting families and children, guardianship and trusteeship. The functions of the department will include the development of social support measures for families with children, children in difficult life situations, orphans and those without parental care, as well as measures to prevent family troubles. The need to create a unified department for family affairs was announced at a meeting of the Council by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko. She proposed renaming the Ministry of Labor to the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family Policy. Now in Russia there is no center for managing family policy at the federal level - these functions are scattered across different structures: in addition to the Ministry of Labor, these are, for example, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At the same time, a number of regions already have their own “family ministries” operating successfully. “Maybe this is a case where regional practices need to be adopted on a national scale,” she suggested. Matvienko proposed not to create additional structures, but to end the “interdepartmental confusion”, correctly redistribute powers and identify one person in charge. “If such a decision is made, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection will make every effort to ensure the high-quality implementation of this task,” the head of the department, Anton Kotyakov, supported the idea. “The process of collecting family policy issues into a single department can become a huge resource for helping families and children,” said the Commissioner for Children’s Rights under the President of the Russian Federation Anna Kuznetsova through the press service, TASS reports.
Another instruction is that by July the Cabinet of Ministers must submit proposals for amendments that would expand the types and forms of state support for families with children who find themselves in difficult life situations. Standards for providing state support must take into account the needs of each family, including assistance at the place of actual residence. Amendments will be made to the social support of orphans and children without parental care.
The President instructed to analyze regional practices in the prevention and prevention of teenage substance abuse. It is necessary to submit proposals for improving legislation to regulate the circulation of goods, the use of which for other purposes may cause toxic intoxication, dangerous for children.
Several instructions concern guardianship and trusteeship authorities. By July, the government, together with regional authorities, should consider improving their work with children. And it is necessary to legislatively clarify the powers of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, eliminating unusual functions and securing the legal basis for interdepartmental interaction. In addition, Vladimir Putin indicated that a set of measures should be developed to train and improve the skills of guardianship workers.
By the fall, the government, together with regional authorities, must approve an action plan for the prevention of social orphanhood for 2022-2025. The “road map” needs to provide, in particular, for improving legislation on supporting, strengthening and protecting the family, and preserving family values. Let us recall that social orphans are children who find themselves in the care of the state with living parents, and a common reason for this is the social and financial disadvantage of families.
Kuznetsova believes that the instructions are of epoch-making significance - they are the creation of an instrument to protect families, children, and family values. “In the adopted amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, special attention is paid to the protection of the family, motherhood, paternity and childhood, in particular, orphans - the state assumes the responsibilities of a parent in relation to them. All this imposes new responsibilities, requirements, and creates a new request,” she explained.
Payments to orphans
In order to support orphans, the state guarantees them financial support. Such support may take the form of:
- pension for the loss of a breadwinner - depending on the length of service of the parents, a labor or social pension may be assigned;
- alimony - if the parents are alive but deprived of parental rights;
- compensation for the purchase of clothing, shoes, household items;
- annual compensation for the purchase of literature and stationery;
- increased scholarship;
- increased unemployment benefits;
- financial assistance at the regional level.
