Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova and Danila Parshchikov took part in the round table at the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation
On May 28, 2025, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation hosted a public presentation of the results of the study of the activities of day care centers for children and young people with disabilities. The event was attended by the head of the laboratory Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova, research intern Danila Parshchikov and student 4 course of the OP "Sociology" Alexey Vaizer. The meeting was moderated by Alina Sokhatskaya, head of the strategic program of the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of the Russian Federation "Support through life".
The study conducted by Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova and Alexey Vaizer aimed to collect and summarize key characteristics describing the functioning of day care centers for children and young adults with disabilities, for the subsequent development of legal guidelines regulating the activities of such centers. The study was based on the classic format of a practice-oriented social survey (social study), aimed at making informed decisions in social policy. The survey methodology assumed a branched survey: a general block, quotas for centers by departmental affiliation and finally - collection of legal documents (local regulations) for further study.
Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova spoke about the results of the study, which showed a high level of need of families for the services of day care centers. The list of social services provided by the centers varies by age group of beneficiaries: for minors, the priority is social-psychological and social-pedagogical services, while adult recipients more often need social-medical services. services. The speakers noted that the terms of service provision vary depending on the departmental affiliation of the organization without taking into account the individual needs of beneficiaries, and a combination of long-term and short-term programs to increase the availability of services for different categories children or depending on the needs of families are not used. At the same time, the average frequency of children's visits to centers based on educational institutions is once a week, which does not correspond to the mission of day care centers. Such frequency is more typical for the format of a club work in an educational organization. In conclusion of their report, the speakers emphasized that the financial stability of organizations remains problematic - at the moment the financial model All types of organizations are dependent on external sources (subsidies, grants and partial payment for services from beneficiaries).
Danila Parshchikov in his report supplemented the theses of his colleagues, presenting a scientific basis for the study of the need for services of Day Care Centers from the point of view of beneficiaries, and not social institutions. Thus, the results of comparative studies of parents of neurotypical and neurodivergent children show that when caring for a child, the latter experience the need to attract a large number of additional resources; primarily financial, emotional and time.
Coping and adaptation scenarios may vary in different families – some families cope with solving emerging problems and meeting the special needs of their child almost entirely on their own; others find themselves in a state of emotional exhaustion, financial deprivation and experience an urgent need for additional material or non-material support from the state. One of the significant elements of the system of assistance to children with disabilities and their families is the provision of short-term child care and supervision services at day care centers. Thanks to visiting such centers, children and adolescents with people with disabilities gain important (and most importantly, safe) experience of social interaction with people outside the family, which in the long term leads to increased independence, improved social and communication skills, correction of behavioral characteristics and improving the psycho-emotional state of both children and parents. Local parent communities are formed on the basis of the centers, which become a social space for mutual assistance and acceptance for parents through communication with people in a similar life situation and competent specialists. In addition, the opportunity to regularly leave a child in day care group frees up a large amount of time that can be devoted to work, social activity, personal development or simply rest. Thus, the opening of the Centers Day care has a long-term positive impact on the quality of life of both children with disabilities and their parents and other close relatives.
Research Assistant
Elena R. Iarskaia-Smirnova
Laboratory Head