Issues Related to the Determination of the Social Status of Disabled Orphans

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to familiarize the scientific community and specialists working in the field of guardianship (custody) over minors with the findings of the analysis of public relations arising in connection with the identification and monitoring of a special category of children represented by orphans and parentless children with disabilities. Design/methodology/approach: In view of the purpose, as the initial empirical background, the authors examine the official regional statistics of 2017, 2018, 2019 (Data of the Federal State Statistics Service in The state of matters on the disabled people, 2020). The state of matters on the disabled people) on the number of disabled children in the Stavropol Territory left without parental care, reveal the dynamic trend and make a correlation between the social roles of an orphaned child, and an orphan with a disability in modern society and the family. For right and unambiguous understanding of the constituting parties of the social relations under study, the authors pay attention to the conceptual apparatus, namely, “disability” and “children’s disability”. Identification of the main development trends of legal regulation of the above relations required the analysis of the Russian state policy lines provided for in programs and strategies. Findings: Due to examination of statistical data, rules, and regulations, opinions of scientists and practitioners on the issues of family education for disabled children, we’ve managed to find out the main problems and ways of their resolution in modern Russian society. Uniqueness/value: The scientific novelty of the paper is that the authors using statistical indicators made an attempt to substantiate the interconnection of common social attitudes in Russian society with the most meaningful solution to the problem of orphanhood, also through the legal regulation of these relations and provision of families with both financial aid and psychological advice.