The Government of the Russian Federation has issued several instructions to ensure the fulfilment of Presidential Executive Order No. 1688 of December 28, 2012 On Measures Concerning the Implementation of Government Policy on Orphaned Children and Those Without Parental Care, including the following:

1. The Ministry of Education and Science (Dmitry Livanov) has been instructed to take decisions to:

• Create mechanisms of legal, administrative and psychological-pedagogical assistance for citizens of the Russian Federation who intend to adopt or to become guardians/custodians/foster parents of orphaned children and those without parental care, as well as for families with adopted children;
• Simplify procedures for adopting and taking in orphaned children and those without parental care into custody/guardianship or foster care, including measures of post-placement state support, such as reducing requirements for floor space in families that take in children, reducing the list of documents to be provided by Russian citizens to state agencies and extending their validity, as well as reducing the volume of post-placement reports to be provided by custodians/guardians and adoptive parents to custody and guardianship agencies.

Deadline: January 25, 2013

2. The Ministry of Healthcare (Veronika Skvortsova), the Ministry of Education and Science (Dmitry Livanov) and the Ministry of Labour (Maxim Topilin) have been instructed to take decisions to:

• Improve the system of healthcare for orphaned children and those without parental care who require medical assistance, including specialist and high-tech medical assistance;
• Monitor the quality of medical checkups and annual health examinations of orphaned children and those without parental care, including adopted children and those taken into custody/guardianship or foster care, as well as the quality of subsequent medical assistance to these groups of children;
• Establish a procedure for medical examination of citizens who plan to adopt or take orphaned children and those without parental care into custody/guardianship or foster care.

Deadline: January 25, 2013

3. The Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov) and the Ministry of Education and Science (Dmitry Livanov) have been instructed to submit to the State Duma a draft federal law on tax incentives for parents who adopt or take orphaned children and those without parental care, including children with disabilities, into custody/guardianship or foster care, as well as parents who adopt a second and subsequent child.

Deadlines: The draft federal laws are to be submitted to the Government by February 1, 2013, and a draft report to the President is to be forwarded to the Government by February 15, 2013.

4. The Ministry of Labour (Maxim Topilin), the Ministry of Economic Development (Andrei Belousov) and the Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov) have been instructed to submit to the State Duma a draft federal law to increase social pensions allocated to children with disabilities and persons disabled from childhood under Federal Law No 166-FZ of December 15, 2001 On State Pension, to 8,704 roubles per month from January 1, 2013.

Deadlines: The draft federal laws are to be submitted to the Government by February 1, 2013, and a draft report to the President is to be forwarded to the Government by February 15, 2013.

5. The Ministry of Education and Science (Dmitry Livanov), the Ministry of Labour (Maxim Topilin) and the Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov) have been instructed to submit to the State Duma a draft federal law to increase the one-time adoption allowance stipulated in Federal Law No 81-FZ of May 19, 1995 On State Benefits to Citizens with Children as of January 1, 2013.

Deadlines: The draft federal laws are to be submitted to the Government by February 1, 2013, and a draft report to the President is to be forwarded to the Government by February 15, 2013.

6. The Ministry of Education and Science (Dmitry Livanov) and the Ministry of Justice (Alexander Konovalov) have been instructed to submit to the State Duma a draft federal law to change the age gap between single adoptive parents and adopted children, leaving the final decision with the court.

Deadlines: The draft federal laws are to be submitted to the Government by February 1, 2013, and a draft report to the President is to be forwarded to the Government by February 15, 2013.

7. The Ministry of Labour (Maxim Topilin), the Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov) and the Ministry of Economic Development (Andrei Belousov) have been instructed to submit a proposal to increase compensation payments set out in Presidential Executive Order No 1455 of December 26, 2006 On Compensatory Payments to Persons Taking Care of Unemployable Citizens for persons caring for children with disabilities under the age of 18 as of January 1, 2013.

Deadline: February 1, 2013.

8. The Ministry of Education and Science (Dmitry Livanov), the Ministry of Labour (Maxim Topilin), the Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov) and the Ministry of Regional Development (Igor Slyunyayev) have been instructed to submit proposals on a mechanism to stimulate regional authorities to approve and make monthly payments to custodians, guardians and adoptive and foster parents whose size shall differ depending on the child’s age and disabilities and shall take into account regional multipliers and mandatory pension, social and medical security deductions, as well as to make monthly payments for children in the care of custodians, guardians and adoptive and foster parents, the size of which shall differ depending on the child’s age and disabilities and shall take into account regional factors.

Deadline: February 1, 2013.

9. The Ministry of Education and Science (Dmitry Livanov), the Ministry of Labour (Maxim Topilin), the Ministry of Regional Development (Igor Slyunyayev), the Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov) and the Ministry of Healthcare (Veronika Skvortsova) have been instructed to submit proposals to increase the average monthly salaries of teachers at schools, medical establishments and organisations that provide social assistance to orphaned children and those without parental care to match the average salary in a given region of the Russian Federation.

Deadline: February 1, 2013.

10. The Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov), the Ministry of Regional Development (Igor Slyunyayev), the Ministry of Education and Science (Dmitry Livanov), the Ministry of Healthcare (Veronika Skvortsova) and the Ministry of Labour (Maxim Topilin) have been instructed to work jointly with the regional bodies of executive authority to secure the allocation of funds from the federal budget and regional budgets towards the fulfilment of Presidential Executive Order No 1688 of December 28, 2012 On Measures Concerning the Implementation of Government Policy on Orphaned Children and Those Without Parental Care.

Deadline: March 1, 2013.