Five-Orphanage Community Assessment Program

Project description

With our assistance to the orphanages of Yaroslavl beginning to take hold, Friends of Russian Orphans is now undertaking an ambitious campaign to provide vocational training, counseling and personal-development opportunities for the orphans of Yaroslavl. To accomplish such a campaign, however, we've acknowledged that we first need to have a comprehensive understanding of the specific needs of the orphans, with full cooperation from the greater Yaroslavl community. Our first major steps, which began in 2004, include the following:

1. Comprehensive study and analysis of nearly 450 orphans and graduates in Yaroslavl: In conjunction with the Yaroslavl Department of Education and the Department of Psychology at Yaroslavl State University, Friends of Russian Orphans interviewed all 400+ orphans in the city to learn about their history, current psychological state, health situation, education level, personal needs and hopes for the future.
   
   We also believe it's important to understand how orphanage graduates are coping with adult life outside the orphanage. We interviewed as many graduates as we could (over 50) in the hopes of gaining much of the same information we acquired from the children in the homes. We've been particularly interested in knowing how the graduates' relative lack of vocational training has hindered their chances at success as adults.
   
   Two professors of psychology at Yaroslavl State University, Dr. Vladimir Kozlov and Dr. Nadezhda Klyueva, headed up the effort to perform the interviews and collect the necessary data. Under their guidance were 30 advanced psychology students and a senior graduate student, all of whom were trained to interview the children. In addition, at least one doctor, psychologist and social worker from each orphanage assisted in gathering and interpreting the orphans' information. Friends of Russian Orphans appropriately compensated all participants for their efforts.
   
   The results of the study were collected and analyzed by Drs. Kozlov and Klyueva, as well as by psychologists Svetlana Bayumova (vice-president of YARBOO Friends of Russian Orphans) and Lyubov Bolotova (chair of the YARBOO Advisory Council). The research findings, analysis and recommendations by these experts were published in a booklet that is being used as a tool for preparing programs for Yaroslavl's orphans. An English translation of the booklet, titled The Social and Psychological Adaptation of the Children of Yaroslavl Orphanages, is now available on this website.



2. Citywide conference on Yaroslavl's orphan situation: A broad range of about 150 Yaroslavl orphanage personnel, administrators, government officials, representatives from police and fire departments, and representatives from surrounding orphanages gathered for an all-day conference in October 2004. Each participant received the booklet described above at least two weeks in advance so they could prepare for the event. Following keynote addresses by professors Kozlov and Klyueva, the group divided by interest and specialty into appropriate work groups to address various topics arising out of the data and recommendations of the booklet. A subsequent book may be published on the data of the booklet and the results, conclusions and proposals generated by the conference.



3. Continuing metrics and evaluation program: After the data collection and conference, conference participants began to design and develop programs that they believe will bring the maximum benefit to the orphan community. These programs went into effect as pilot programs in 2005. As the programs mature, we will continually evaluate their success by conducting annual followup interviews with the orphans. Friends of Russian Orphans provided each orphanage with a dedicated computer to be used solely for the purpose of maintaining and expanding the data that tracks the orphans' progress. Computer experts from Yaroslavl's Department of Education provided the necessary training to the psychologists charged with the task of entering the results from the annual evaluations.

Rationale

We acknowledge that although Friends of Russian Orphans has vast amounts of experience in the complexities of Russia, we simply cannot make suggestions for Yaroslavl's orphans and orphanage system without first gaining an intimate understanding of both. Moreover, we're certain that only direct partnership with local experts and decisionmakers will foster the ownership and motivation required for a long-term orphan improvement program. This project gives us the opportunity to gain invaluable information while promoting unprecedented cooperation with the local population.

The collection of specific information from every orphan in Yaroslavl is a significant milestone in the recognition of orphans in the city; never before has such an undertaking been done. With this vast amount of data in hand, Friends of Russian Orphans has established a baseline from which we can gauge the progress of our training and counseling programs well into the future.

Project status

The progress of this project has been swift, thanks in large part to the overwhelming amount of interest in the project in Russia. The following achievements were reached in 2004:

• All the students from Yaroslavl State University were trained, with some holding trial interviews at the orphanages as part of their training;
• The interviews of all the orphans of Yaroslavl were conducted;
• The design of a computer database, under the responsibility of two experts from the Department of Education, was completed;
• Writing of the results of the study and supporting materials for the program's booklet was completed, well ahead of the citywide conference;
• The computers that will be used to track the ongoing progress of the orphans were delivered to the orphanages and placed in secure locations;
• The citywide conference on October 29 was a resounding success, bringing together over 160 influential and expert members of the Yaroslavl orphanage community.

The first half of 2005 was extremely busy. Participants from the conference who signed up for further activity were involved in drafting specific, detailed grant proposals for pilot programs in four areas:

• Post-Orphanage Support;
• Professional Development of Orphanage Staff;
• Expansion of Orphans' Social Contacts; and
• Development of Healthy Environments in Orphanages.

These proposals were reviewed in detail, both by the YARBOO Advisory Council in Yaroslavl and by the FRO Board of Directors. In July 2005, three of the four proposals were accepted, and pilot programs for these three were begun (with funding from Friends of Russian Orphans) in the second half of the year. To learn more about the specifics of each program, click the above links.

By all accounts, this initial assessment project was an outstanding success. The dozens of students performed their interviews efficiently and effectively, and the partnership between Drs. Kozlov and Klyueva, the Department of Education and Friends of Russian Orphans has been smooth and mutually beneficial. We look forward to reporting on further successes on this project as time goes on.

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