The PMR President received a joint appeal from the heads of institutions for children with disabilities. The essence of the problem that they brought to the attention of the President: children with life-threatening disabilities cannot be in specialized children's institutions upon reaching adulthood, according to the current legislation. Administrations of correctional institutions often meet the parents of young people halfway and continue to accept grown-up pupils at their institutions. This is not only a violation of legal regulations, but unsafe. The growing up of people with disorders of psychophysical development is accompanied by changes in their behavior, often with manifestations of aggression towards other pupils (children aged 3 to 18 years) and staff. Another complicating factor for care is weight gain, which young people with disabilities are prone to. For such citizens, it is necessary to create separate institutions, officials who turned to the President for assistance believe. Vadim Krasnoselsky invited them to discuss the issue. The director of the Dubossary Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of Children with Disabilities Svetlana Zavtur, the head of the Republican Specialized Children's Home Irina Cherkez, and the head of the Center for Disabled Children of Bendery Maria Ivanova took part in the working meeting. The discussion included the Head of the Administration of the PMR President Sergey Belous, the PMR Government Chairman Alexander Rosenberg, the Pridnestrovian Parliament Speaker Alexander Korshunov and the ministers of the social block Elena Kulichenko and Kristina Albul.
The President was told that the number of requests from parents of citizens with disabilities who have crossed the childhood age limit and need special attention is growing. The issue requires an urgent solution. Previous measures were temporary. For example, five adult children were left in an orphanage in the capital. The institution’s regulations spelled out this possibility, increasing the age limit 1 to 7, then to 12, then to 18, and now to 30 years. This decision contradicts the functional essence of the institution, reflected in its name – an orphanage, they said in the course of the meeting. It was noted that there are currently 639 age-related potential visitors to day care centers and 580 children with life-threatening disabilities in the republic who are in families and do not attend special institutions. It is important to socialize them and unite them at the sites of various centers. The choice of institution depends both on age and on whether the ward poses a danger to others. Both boarding schools and day care centers are needed.
Specific proposals have been received. There is an idea to create a center for adults with special needs in life on the basis of an idle building located at the entrance to Sukleya. The head of the district Vasily Tishchenko and the Minister of Social Protection and Labor Elena Kulichenko went to the site the day before. The proposed building meets the request according to preliminary assessment. This building was built as a school for 1000 students. Taking into account the specifics of the special institution, it will be possible to accommodate about 200-250 pupils here – some for daytime visits, the rest for round-the-clock stay. The government has been instructed to study in detail the possibility of implementing the initiative.
Another instruction given during the working discussion was to explore the possibility of expanding the infrastructure of the Republican Center for Disabled Children located in Bendery by transferring nearby buildings to it. For example, there is a library in one of them. It was noted in the course of the meeting that it would be more expedient perhaps to move it to another premises rather than erect a new building for the center. The institution is designed for fifty pupils now, the administration considers it necessary to increase the coverage to 150 people.
Other proposals were discussed in the course of the meeting. All of them are being considered. The President called for consolidating efforts and not postponing the solution to an urgent problem.
