Family MFCs: A New Foothold for Families
A second chance at happiness. The Verkhny Ufaley Family MFC helped restore a family on the brink of collapse. Center specialists became a support for the mother in fighting addiction, assisted in paperwork, helped her find work and employment. And most importantly, they succeeded in bringing the children home from a social rehabilitation center.
There are dozens of such cases where Family MFC staff help resolve problems. The project is gaining momentum in Chelyabinsk Oblast. In a one-stop-shop mode, experts help solve various life issues: apply for benefits, get free legal advice, talk to a psychologist, facilitate communication with government agencies, and many others. The Southern Urals already has four such centers, and a fifth has now opened in Chebarkul. Plans call for further expansion of the network.
Family Support Is a Priority
The Family MFC is a pilot project of the Fund for Support of Children in Difficult Life Situations, supported by the Ministry of Labor. The work is carried out under the national project «Family». The key task is to provide assistance to any family in a one-stop-shop mode.
While regular MFCs mostly help with paperwork and documents, family centers are designed to support people in any life situation.
Chelyabinsk Oblast is one of the first eight regions in the country to implement this modern form of assistance. Moreover, creating a network of Family MFCs is far from the only direction of comprehensive family support in the Southern Urals.
«Strengthening the institution of family and improving the demographic situation have become key tasks of social policy in our region. For families with children, we have more than twenty types of social support. Among them are the regional maternal capital, monthly payments for the second child, benefits for student families, and compensation for housing and utility costs. We also actively implement a program for maternal and child health. We have launched a unique program in the region — the maternal student capital,» said Alexei Teksler, Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast.
A New Foothold for Families
The FMC project, successfully operating since 2022 in Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, Korkino, and Verkhny Ufaley, is confidently moving to new cities. Now a new center has opened in Chebarkul, becoming the fifth in the region.
«In many ways, thanks to the policy being implemented, the demographic situation is improving. The number of large families is increasing, and the birth rate in Chelyabinsk Oblast is above the Russian average. The Family Multifunctional Center is not just an updated name; it is a new level of quality and accessibility of social services for families with children. I am confident that the FMC will become a point of attraction, support, and growth for hundreds of families in Chebarkul,» noted Deputy Governor Vadim Evdokimov.
The structure of the Chebarkul FMC includes five departments: a department for initial reception of families with children; a department for providing social services and social support; a department for post-institutional accompaniment, support for substitute families, foster parent school, and emergency psychological assistance; a home micro-rehabilitation center; and a department for social and pedagogical support.
«Many of us have children, as I say, «God-given.» Some may call them foster children, but to me they are all my own, yet each is special. To properly guide such a child and, most importantly, not to harm them during the growing-up period, parents desperately need professional support. We have been side by side with this center for almost 15 years and are endlessly grateful that it exists,» said Chebarkul resident Alisa Lukiforova.
Special attention is given to children with disabilities. The center has created all conditions for them. Children who were previously limited in mobility can now undergo rehabilitation.
Focus on the Family
The new institution is a former Center for Children Without Parental Care. It was repurposed to consolidate resources and help not only children but entire families who face difficulties.
«In recent years, we have seen a qualitative shift in social policy: the need for traditional orphanage institutions has practically disappeared. Today, our services are maximally oriented towards helping families to prevent children from entering state institutions. All efforts are directed at preserving the biological family or placing the child in a substitute family, because the main goal is for every child to grow up in a home environment. Importantly, during the repurposing, our specialists and teachers underwent extensive retraining and advanced training courses,» said Irina Sopina, director of the Chebarkul Family Multifunctional Center.
Social Navigators
Family Multifunctional Centers employ not just operators but social navigators who accompany families until the issue is fully resolved. In each FMC, families can count on comprehensive support in a variety of life situations without needing to approach other agencies.
Professional psychologists help cope with prolonged conflicts or addictions. Qualified lawyers suggest ways out of legal dead ends. Social workers assist in finding employment, including pointing out opportunities for career guidance. Educators provide detailed consultations on child upbringing and development, and also help enroll them in educational institutions.
In critical cases, mobile teams come to the rescue, quickly visiting families in socially dangerous situations. Many FMCs have playrooms and parent groups where families can exchange experiences and support each other in an informal atmosphere.
«Issues of preserving the value of family, motherhood, fatherhood, and a return to the traditional image of a large family are priorities. Family preservation is the foundation of our country«s demographic policy. In Chelyabinsk Oblast, global changes began in 2019 aimed at introducing and effectively implementing family-preserving technologies into the work of the entire social sector. Since their opening, more than 30,000 families have contacted FMCs, and the total number of social services provided has reached nearly 300,000. Seeing such demand, we have already opened the fifth FMC in Chelyabinsk Oblast,» said Natalya Lugacheva, Minister of Social Relations.
Home to Mom
One striking example of the work of Family MFC specialists is the story of a large family from Verkhny Ufaley that was on the verge of breaking up but got a chance.
It started according to a sad scenario: the mother of three children often drank and stopped caring for the children. As a result, all three were taken away and sent to a social rehabilitation center.
The woman did not make contact for three months, but when she found the strength, she turned to the Family MFC for help. Specialists responded. The woman underwent rehabilitation and firmly decided to get her children back.
The path to family reunification was complicated by legal issues: the mother, who had a higher education from the Moscow Institute of Physical Culture and Sports, had a criminal record. This prevented her from officially getting a job in her profession. While Family MFC specialists helped obtain a work permit, the woman received additional education in «Adaptive Physical Education.»
The father, although he never stopped working, also realized his alcohol addiction and underwent treatment. Today, everything is fine in the family.
«The mother is officially employed, the children have returned home and are safe. This story proves that when the resources of specialists and the desire of parents come together, the family gets a chance for a truly new life,» said Yekaterina Shashurina, director of the Verkhny Ufaley Family MFC.
Where Next?
The work of family centers has shown how much this form of help is in demand among residents of the Southern Urals. Therefore, the regional government plans to expand the network and launch new centers in 2026. The next one will appear in Minyar, opening as early as next week.
