User:Rbachman

My name is Rachel and I am currently studying at Drake University. I am majoring in psychology with minors in sociology and English. In the future I am hoping to be able to go into social work and also work within the foster care system. This semester I will be studying youth in Russia and their transitions after being in an orphanage or foster care through my class Education Program:Drake University/Global Youth Studies (Spring 2013).

Some articles I am currently looking at include

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinstitutionalisation_(orphanages_and_children%27s_institutions)

I found a page concerning orphans while the Soviet Union was still entact (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphans_in_the_Soviet_Union). This page ends though in 1991 with it's fall. I would like to continue after that point specifically looking at Russia.

My main focus would be what has happened over the past 20 years. I would like to give at least a brief history of what it has looked like since the fall of the Soviet Union. Most of the emphasis will go on the past few years. I think that it is important to look at Russia's relationships with other countries such as the US (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_law_of_Russian_Federation_no._272-FZ_of_2012-12-28). This will help me create a better picture of not only how their system works, but how it is for children and youth to be in such institutions.

Since Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, I will include some statistics such as the number of children in the system, the number of orphanages, and the average number of adoptions.

Rbachman (talk) 01:21, 11 March 2013 (UTC)