Shalash charity foundation
Shalash for parents: courses on working with difficult behavior for parents
Main values
Geography: Ryazan Oblast
CSS contribution, rubles
Total budget, rubles
Implementation period, months
Project idea
The project aims to prevent family breakdown, child removal, and adolescent criminalization due to family abuse in Ryazan.
Project participants will receive information on the consequences of abuse for children and the availability of assistance in the region, as well as acquire skills in constructive regulation of challenging behavior through a unified educational program.
The program is based on best practices from international parenting courses and includes:
- an offline intensive session at the start of the program to establish contact and deliver basic knowledge;
- weekly online sessions to teach skills and provide ongoing support
- a chat for psychological and informational support throughout the program
- and surveys to evaluate program effectiveness.
The project is implemented in collaboration with ANO Ryazan Social Orphanhood Prevention Resource Center, which provides comprehensive assistance to disadvantaged families. Center’s staff will be trained in the program’s methodology and will be able to continue its implementation after the project’s completion.
Relevance
Children's challenging behavior is influenced by the socio-economic status of the family. Over 60% of child abuse crimes are committed within families [Source: Child abuse: https://www.rbc.ru/society/14/08/2019/5d5126249a79479ea5f4db0a]. Family dysfunction impacts adolescent criminalization: in 2019, around 3.9% of all solved crimes were committed by minors. In total, 37,953 juvenile offenders were identified [Source: Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation].
The Ryazan Region, where the project is taking place, is a crisis area. Only 12.6% of Ryazan families with income below the poverty line receive benefits and other social payments [Source: Ryazanstat https://ryazan.gks.ru/socdem]. In 2018, the regional Commission on Juvenile Affairs imposed administrative penalties on 2,934 parents [Source: Committee for Juvenile Affairs and Rights Protection of the Ryazan Region http://eis.mon.gov.ru/education_socialization].
According to a survey by the Shalash Foundation and the NAFI Analytical Center, 89% of Russians believe that families are responsible for adolescent behavior https://nafi.ru/analytics/trudnoe-povedenie-podrostkov-u-chuzhikh-detey-otmechayut-u-svoikh-ne-zamechayut/].
According to studies by the Institute of Education of the Higher School of Economics in 2016–2017, 25% of parents doubt that they are good parents, and 20% of mothers note that relatives and friends criticize their parenting style; 92% of mothers and 73% of fathers, respectively, want to know how to raise and develop their children [Source: Committee for Juvenile Affairs and Rights Protection of the Ryazan Region http://eis.mon.gov.ru/education_socialization].
Russian NGOs offer various types of assistance, including classes for children, purchasing food, and providing essentials. The WHO [WHO: https://apps.who.int/violence-info/country/RU/] points out that necessary training on managing challenging behavior for parents is lacking in Russia.
Research on the effectiveness of parenting programs demonstrates the need to include them in a comprehensive support system for families in crisis.
Social effect
Improvement of child-parent relationships in families where children exhibit difficult behavior.
KPI
KPI
Project Results
Parents who completed the program use constructive and safe techniques for managing children’s challenging behavior and resolving family conflicts; they better understand the causes and consequences of their children’s challenging behavior; they are more likely to seek help from specialists for children’s challenging behavior; and they use guidelines for specific cases of challenging behavior instead of resorting to punishment.
Partner organization staff improved their qualifications through participating in the project and studying the educational program’s results and guidelines for parents.
A long-running online community was created, providing consultations and additional resources for parents and guardians.
Project progress after CSS funding
After the project ends, per the agreement with ANO Resource Center and participating parents, Shalash Foundation experts will remain available for consultations and answering questions. The Shalash Foundation’s program specialist will also continue to provide study materials to parents bi-monthly for independent learning after the project concludes.
