ACTIVITY DATES: October 2006 - August 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), National Foundation for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NFPCC)

REGION(S): Altaiskiy kray, Irkutskaya oblast, Khabarovskiy kray, Krasnoyarskiy kray, Novosibirskaya oblast, Primorskiy kray, St. Petersburg, Tambovskaya oblast, Tomskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Assistance to Russian Orphans (ARO) program helps establish and improve child welfare services and policies in Russia by introducing and supporting innovative programs for child welfare services.  The program seeks to reduce child abandonment, introduce early intervention and case management for families at-risk, promote community and family-based care for orphans, and advance foster care. 

ARO aims to institutionalize best practices in child welfare for long-term, sustained impact-providing technical assistance and supervisory support to Russian child welfare programs and related regional government departments.  ARO offers sub-grant and training programs in nine regions. The ARO strategy focuses on supporting a critical mass of innovative child welfare projects and establishing enabling policy environments at the local/municipal and regional levels.  These efforts include maximizing local financial and human resources and forging sustainable partnerships with the local government.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

The ARO program developing a model child welfare program in Tomsk Oblast that can be replicated in other regions.  The comprehensive package includes: psycho-social rehabilitation for children and families; support for families with disabled children; early rehabilitation assistance to children with severe disabilities; emergency services to families in crisis; support to foster parents and guardians; and social adaptation for orphanage alumni.  The Tomsk model has been studied and highlighted by the Family, Women and Children's Affairs Committee of the State Duma.

As a result, there has been 5.6% decrease in the number of children in institutions in Tomsk. Last year 42 children were placed in foster families (compared to only 2 in 2006) and two orphanages closed thanks to improved support for family-based care.  In Russia overall, the number of institutionalized children placed in family-based care increased by 6% in 2007, and ARO priority regions accounted for over one-third of the overall national number of reunited families. Over 40,000 children and families have been served since the beginning of the program. 

In partnership with the University of Alaska and the Institute for Human Services in Ohio, ARO has developed a model university curriculum in social work for Tomsk University.  The curriculum includes a mandatory practicum in ARO sites to provide students hands-on experience with child welfare services.

In all pilot regions, the ARO team introduced programs for families in crisis, assistance to children with deviant behavior and families with alcohol-related problems, and social programs in schools.  Case management approach is introduced across the above spectrum of services to assure the quality of care.

Pilot services for HIV+ women were insitutionalized by social welfare centers in two districts of St. Petersburg.  Services include family preservation, psycho-social support and adherence to ARV treatment.

ACTIVITY DATES: June 2005 - August 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: International Republican Institute (IRI)

REGION(S): Altaiskiy kray, Kaliningradskaya oblast, Krasnodarskiy kray, Moscow, Novosibirskaya oblast, Omskaya oblast, Pskovskaya oblast, Rostovskaya oblast, Samarskaya oblast, St. Petersburg, Stavropolskiy kray, Tyumenskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
IRI is focused on supporting and developing democratically oriented parties at regional and national levels.  To achieve this, IRI works to strengthen the links between political parties and civic organizations to ensure parties' responsiveness to the public.  The program also encourages youth participation in the political process through advocacy skills training.  To monitor the progress of this program and the overall advance of civil society in Russia, IRI conducts periodic polls utilizing a reputable local polling organization.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

IRI's successful Youth Leadership Development sessions continue to be held throughout Russia.  The sessions are intended to augment the advocacy and coalition building skills of the participants, as well as to develop an inter-regional youth network focused on advocacy for youth-related issues.  Approximately 900 participants took part in these trainings in 2007.

IRI is introducing a comprehensive assistance program for the Kirov Oblast following the new Governor's request that IRI act as a conduit for economic development and media programming.  In coordination with USAID and other organizations, IRI will continue to work with regional authorities to identify opportunities for increasing citizen participation and leadership responsiveness.  

Beginning in late 2009, IRI will develop a new legislative exchange program. The program will facilitate an exchange of Russian and American decision makers, working on common problems and solutions.  The program will initially involve Russian State Duma members, but plans are to gradually shift the focus to include regional leaders and their staff.

IRI continues to implement its successful polling project, delivering timely and informative reports on the political environment and citizen attitudes toward political issues. 

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2002 - September 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Johns Hopkins University, Healthy Russia Foundation

REGION(S): Irkutskaya oblast, Ivanovskaya oblast, Orenburgskaya oblast, Sakhalinskaya oblast, St. Petersburg, Stavropolskiy kray

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This program promotes HIV/AIDS prevention, reproductive health, and substance abuse prevention among vulnerable populations, including youth.  The program promotes increased access to and use of counseling and testing services for HIV and the use of modern hormonal contraception, with a target on youth reproductive health.  Another component is a healthy lifestyles program for youth that targets vulnerable young people (aged 13-19) to prevent substance abuse, smoking, unwanted pregnancy, sexually-transmitted infections, and to encourage proper diet and exercise.  

JHU and the Healthy Russia Foundation collaborate closely with regional government counterparts, health care institutes, universities and NGOs, such as Healthy Future and the Bureau Against Drugs, to implement programs in St. Petersburg, Orenburg, Irkutsk, Sakhalin and Ivanovo Oblasts.  The Healthy Russia Foundation's healthy lifestyles program for youth in Nevinnomysk (Stavropol Krai) is supported by a Global Development Alliance partnership between Eurochem and USAID/Russia.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

In 2007 alone, over 22,000 youth in Orenburg Oblast were reached with HIV prevention messages through peer education activities. 

Training on counseling and testing for HIV was integrated into continuing education programs at key medical academies in St. Petersburg and Orenburg.  Materials on HIV communication and counseling for health care providers that were developed under the program were approved for use by the Federal AIDS Center.

Over 25,000 women and men in target regions were reached with family planning and reproductive health messages through the program's "Couples Campaign." 

Comprehensive healthy lifestyles programs for youth were launched in Irkutsk and Sakhalin, and will be launched in Ivanovo in autumn 2008.  The healthy lifestyle materials - including a manual, an educational DVD, a CD with the video's soundtrack, and an accompanying guide - were approved by the Russian Ministry of Education.

ACTIVITY DATES: July 2006 - April 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Russian Children’s Fund, North Ossetia Republican Branch

REGION(S): Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya Republic

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
This program facilitates the integration of vulnerable and displaced populations, especially forced migrants, in North Ossetia by improving infrastructure and social services through labor-intensive public works projects and by developing small businesses through trainings and a targeted small grants program.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Twelve labor-intensive public works projects were selected, according to criteria based on best practices guidelines developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).  

To date, ten infrastructure projects have been implemented.  The projects include: laying water pipelines in the villages Kardzhin and Gizel; reconstruction of a road in the village Kartza; renovation of an elderly care facility in Chernoyarskaya; extension of gas pipelines in Novy and Krasnogor; and four energy-saving projects at local kindergartens.  These ten projects created over 100 temporary work places and more than 3,500 people will benefit from their results.

Under the small business development component of the program, forty people have received training and seven SME projects have been funded by the small grants program. These projects have resulted in the creation of 85 jobs, of which 40 were filled by women.

Working in alliance with several government ministries, CFNO was able to leverage $158,000 in support from local administrations to supplement the $305,000 in funding from USAID.

ACTIVITY DATES: January 2008 - January 2010

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Winrock International

REGION(S): Khabarovskiy kray, Primorskiy kray

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The LIDER program (using the Russian acronym for Leadership, Initiative, Action, Unity, and Results) strives to link young people in Khabarovskiy and Primorskiy Krais more directly to their communities and to boost their participation in local governance and advocacy, especially around issues of health and social well-being.  LIDER contributes to the positive development of Russia's next generation by strengthening local NGOs, establishing sustainable partnerships, fostering youth activism and participation, and replicating effective youth-friendly services and outlets.  The program includes youth in all stages of design and implementation through Youth Advisory Councils.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

The LIDER program was launched in Khabarovsk in April 2008 with the participation of more than 100 representatives from youth organizations, the regional administrations, and the media. Youth Advisory Committees have been formed in each of the pilot regions.

Assessments among youth in the pilot regions were conducted that identified the following as key priorities for engagement: economic well-being, active lifestyles, health, love, happy family life, and interesting work.

ACTIVITY DATES: July 2004 - September 2010

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: HealthRight International

REGION(S): St. Petersburg

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Through this project, HealthRight International (formerly Doctors of the World) is working with the St. Petersburg City Government and local NGOs to develop medico-socio-psychological services for street and neglected children and youth, including those who are HIV-positive, to facilitate their rehabilitation and their transition from living on the street to living with a family or independently as an adult.  The project supports outreach activities, drop-in centers and shelters, crisis wards, and a half-way house, as well as youth vocational training and employment activities, a foster parent program, and a school for volunteers.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Over 5,000 clients have been served since the inception of the project, with 720 children returning to their families and 153 children placed in foster care. In addition, 62 young people have received job training and 29 have found stable employment.     

The first municipal emergency center for HIV-positive children and youth was established at the social welfare center of Frunzenky District and served 645 clients.  Another 45 adolescents became residents of the first half-way house, opened in partnership with the Kalinisky District Administration.  A training module for foster parents of HIV-positive children was introduced into the curriculum of the School for Foster Parents.  In addition, a halfway house for HIV+ youth with drug-use problems has been opened.

A Unified Family Assessment Protocol was developed for the Social Protection Committee of St. Petersburg to conduct risk assessments of children in crisis families and to determine appropriate family interventions or criteria for placement in a shelter or foster care.  A pilot training program was developed to strengthen the professional capacity of 400 specialists from municipal social care facilities in Kalinisky District and 125 social workers in local NGOs.

The second international conference of services providers was conducted in March, 2009 to share best practices and lessons learned in support for homeless and neglected children.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2002 - September 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: International Memorial

REGION(S): Astrakhanskaya oblast, Komi Republic, Permskaya oblast, Rostovskaya oblast, Ryazanskaya oblast, Stavropolskiy kray, Tulskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The project seeks to build the capacity of human rights organizations and develop the skills and influence of a new generation of human rights leaders.  Memorial is conducting public awareness campaigns that draw on survey data and designing targeted public outreach and social marketing strategies to engage the general public in promoting human rights.  

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Under the project, Memorial trained 75 young human rights activists in new social marketing skills.  As a result, human rights public campaigns (based on survey data) were conducted in Perm, Ryazan, Rostov-on-Don, and Novocherkassk, reaching more than 1.3 million citizens.

In Ryazan, over 3,000 people attended campaign activities, including a photo exhibition about the war in Chechnya entitled "The Road to Nowhere."

In Perm, a public campaign on Children's Rights was created in close coordination with the local administration. The campaign resulted in more than 500 meetings on children's rights issues with parents in oblast schools, trainings for over 200 oblast teachers on children's rights issues, and the participation of more than 800 children from oblast orphanages in celebrations for the "Day of the Child."

Over 800 legal consultations were provided in Novocherkassk in Rostov Oblast on issues of family law, labor law, selection for military service, and Russian citizenship. Additionally, over 100 public awareness activities promoting the Rights of Youth - including theater performances, radio programs, and posters in public transportation - were conducted in the above mentioned towns.

Additionally, 45 new human rights activists are being trained in modern social marketing and strategic communication techniques in 7 new regions. So far, young activists in Tula and the Komi Republic are addressing the interaction of youth and the police and have conducted focus groups and surveys on public attitudes toward the police. They have created websites (http://www.molodrk.com/ and http://mpg.ucoz.ru/) with useful resources and published newsletters that address improving police-youth relations.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2005 - September 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Center for Civic Initiatives "Development"

REGION(S): Kamchatskaya oblast, Khabarovskiy kray, Magadanskaya oblast, Primorskiy kray, Sakhalinskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project is designed to: 1) develop the capacity of teachers on topics such as democracy, civic society, citizen participation, and citizen influence on political processes; 2) increase interaction among NGOs, educational institutions and government bodies in order to advance civic education in the Russian Far East; and 3) increase informational exchanges among teachers, students and other interested parties to facilitate the sharing and distribution of civic education resources and materials across regions.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

The project has increased the availability of civic education resources in remote regions of the Russian Far East.

In particular, the Center "Development" has:

• Involved 29,220 young people , 6,845 educators and 1,252 government representatives in program activities.
• Conducted training events on the development and implementation of social projects for 2,343 youth representatives and 1,099 educators.
• Involved 12,592 school and university students, 3,096 educators and 665 government representatives from selected regions in educational events on the development of civic competence.
• Conducted 30 seminars on civic education and citizen participation for 1,184 teachers and educators, who then applied their new knowledge and skills in civic lessons for 9,795 students.
• Launched the Civic Competence web portal http://www.civitas-er.org/, which makes civic education resources more accessible to educators and community leaders; 156 materials have been published on the site so far.
• Conducted a small-grants program that enabled the implementation of 59 grassroots projects designed to involve young people in improving their communities;
• Contributed to the development of the NGO sector in small towns and rural areas in selected regions, with a focus on Primoriye and Khabarovsk..

ACTIVITY DATES: October 2007 - October 2010

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX)

REGION(S): Chelyabinskaya oblast, Irkutskaya oblast, Karelia Republic, Kurskaya oblast, Murmanskaya oblast, Stavropolskiy kray, Tambovskaya oblast, Tomskaya oblast, Tyumenskaya oblast, Volgogradskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

In order to help youth develop into healthy, skilled, engaged citizens, the Youth Competencies Development Program (YCDP) selects the best youth-driven programming practiced in Russia and facilitates their replication by local youth leaders, through small grant funding, trainings and mentoring.  The program also works with adult stakeholders from the NGO, government, business and media sectors to build on-going community support for the youth and their programs.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Community Schools

In three regions, IREX is implementing a community school model.  NGOs from Voronezh, Petrozavodsk and Krasnoyarsk with a proven track record in this field have successfully launched programs in Kursk, Murmansk and Tomsk.  The goal of these experienced NGOs, or "NGO Replicators," is to establish community schools in their target areas.  In each school, teachers, administrators and students are trained in project management, fundraising, needs assessment and social marketing.  After the training, the students implement projects that both benefit their community and enable the participating young people to develop the skills they will need to become successful adults and active citizens.

Youth-Driven Model

In seven regions, IREX is utilizing a model, whereby effective youth programming is replicated through a peeer-to-peer transfer of knowledge. Youth organizations involved in successful youth initiatives present their models at regional Youth Empowerment Road Shows.  Action teams of interested local youth then select the models that best serve the needs of their region and receive seed grants and training to implement these models in their communities.

To date, the program has achieved the following results:

• 90 NGOs and municipal agencies involved as partners in youth initiatives;
• 23 successful youth project models replicated; and
• Over 600 youth participants in project implementation.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2007 - September 2010

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX)

REGION(S): Adygeya Republic, Chechenskaya Republic, Dagestan Republic, Ingushetiya Republic, Kabardino-Balkariya Republic, Karachayevo-Cherkesiya Republic, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya Republic, Stavropolskiy kray

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The YIPP project works to reduce the potential for conflict in the North Caucasus by creating opportunities for inter-cultural relationships between young people aged 15-25, increasing communication and cultural understanding between different communities.  Project activities also aim to support youth as community leaders, to advance community development goals, and improve their professional and life skills.  The project fosters the development of employment networks and improves access to information.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

To realize its overreaching goal of enhancing multiethnic understanding and providing youth with skills and opportunities for economic progress and community involvement, YIPP has achieved the following results:

• About 150 youth from different regions of the North Caucasus took part in professional and life skills development trainings (vocational courses, entrepreneurship and business development, NGO management, life skills). In total, 49% of vocational trainees managed to secure viable employment six months after the completion of the courses.
• Two sports and leadership youth camps were organized for 170 target youth from the North Caucasus, who participated in trainings on tolerance, civic education, leadership, volunteering, and project writing.
• Under the Youth Initiated Community Development component or the program, 66 conflict mediation/civic education trainings were carried out for 158 youth and representatives of youth committees; 17 youth NGOs from throughout the North Caucasus were awarded small grants for leadership capacity development and implementation of social projects; and a Training of Trainers (TOT) was organized for 10 target youth, who received state certificate of trainers after the completion of the courses.
• Four Centers for Accessing Technology (CATs) were opened in Stavropolskiy Kray and the Republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria to provide youth with free access to the Internet and free computer courses.