A portal for foster parents has been launched in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

      On April 22, 2026, 16:16 Society In the Nizhny Novgorod region, the "Foster Parenting" portal has started operating. The resource brings together key information for residents planning to adopt a child into their family. As reported by the regional Ministry of Social Development and Family Policy, the service was created at the initiative and with the methodological support of the ANO Resource Center "Children in the Family."

      The website contains requirements for candidates for foster parents, as well as step-by-step instructions for various forms of placing a child in a family. Users have access to an interactive map of 57 foster parenting schools with information about upcoming enrollments.

      The head of the relevant ministry, Igor Sedykh, noted that the portal accumulates all necessary documents for adoption and guardianship, as well as information about federal and regional payments. In addition, the resource features materials on possible difficulties in a child's adaptation, videos with family stories, and contacts for organizations providing support.

      According to the minister, at the beginning of 2026, there are more than 7,700 orphans and children without parental care living in the region, of which 93% are already being raised in families. At the same time, about 590 children remain in institutions. "Almost 90% of them are teenagers and children who have brothers or sisters," he clarified.

      The portal publishes current profiles of children looking for families. Most of them are teenagers, siblings who cannot be separated, as well as children with disabilities. The section is updated monthly.

      The director of the ANO Resource Center "Children in the Family," Svetlana Meller, reported that over the past year and a half, the training program in foster parenting schools has been updated. Six new modules have been added, dedicated, in particular, to resource families, kinship care, raising teenagers, children with disabilities, and those with HIV status, as well as siblings. In 2025, 914 residents of the region underwent training, with the highest activity recorded in Nizhny Novgorod, Semyonov, Sergach, Arzamas, and Dzerzhinsk. She expressed hope for an increase in the number of prepared candidates in 2026.

      The creation of the portal and the updating of educational programs have become part of the implementation of the regional concept "Unified Model of Assistance to Children." Its goal is to reduce the number of children in residential institutions by four times over five years and to build a support system for families in crisis without separating them from their children. The coordination of work is carried out by the resource center "Children in the Family."

      The project aims to prevent social orphanhood and develop family forms of upbringing, which aligns with the objectives of the national project "Family." It started in 2025 at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is a continuation of the previously active initiatives "Demography" and "Culture."

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