Keywords

JEL Code

1 Introduction

Family, mother/fatherhood and childhood form an interrelated system of constitutional values which have direct influence on reproduction of population, successive alternation of generations and a decent living level of population in general (Rakitina et al., 2018).

A social support system for a family, mother/fatherhood and childhood functions in Russia under current conditions. However, mortality rate prevails over birth rate among indicators related to natural population change.

According to the data of the Russian Federal State Statistics Service the mortality rate was half as much as birth rate in January–February 2020 (for the first two months of 2019 mortality rate exceeded birth rate by 1.3 times); such exceedance was equal to 1.5–2.4 times in 41 federal subjects of the Russian Federation (The Federal state statistics service, 2020). The number of deaths exceeded the number of births by 1.3 times for the same period of time in Khabarovsk Krai (The official web-site of Khabarovsk Krai Government, 2020). The birth rate consistently fails to provide population growth.

2 Methodology

The methodological basis of the study was formed by comparative legal, chronological and sociological methods.

Authors of the study analyzed the legal base with regard to the results of sociological studies in order to check the efficiency of the social support system for a family, mother/fatherhood and childhood.

The theoretical basis of the study is formed by transactions of Ageeva (2020), Kulikova (2020), Troshkina (2019), Matveeva et al. (2019), Maleeva (2019).

3 Findings

Strategic objectives of the country related to the social and economic development, as well as to the demographic development predetermined the development of some core documents (ConsultantPlus, 2018). They include national / regional projects and programs of support to families with children.

Forms of the social support in Russia include privileges, services, in-kind and monetary aid (ConsultantPlus, 1995, 2006, 2014). Since 2008 an indexation procedure related to the allowances for parents has existed in the Russian Federation (Table 1)

Table 1 Federal benefits and compensatory allowances for families with children
Full size table

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The Decree No. 61 dated January 29th, 2020 approved the indexation coefficient of social allowances in amount of 1.03 for current year (in 2019 that coefficient was 1.043) (ConsultantPlus, 2020).

In 2020 the sum of a child care benefit for the first child is not less than 3375,77 rubles, for the second and further ones is 6751,54 rubles. While in 2007 the amount of that benefit did not exceed 700 rubles without taking into consideration a priority and a number of children.

Since 2007 the state has initiated new lump sum allowances after a birth or an adoption of the second and a subsequent child, i.e. a maternity capital. In terms of an annual indexation the amount of the stated capital raised from 250 thousand rubles up to 466,617 thousand rubles. (since 2007 till 2020). The sum of this lump sum allowance was increased by 1.9 times or by 86.6% (ConsultantPlus-2, 2017).

The latest changes of a lump sum allowances amount let a maternity capital increase up to 150 thousand rubles for the second child. Since 2020 a family has the right for getting an increased allowance in case of not having got a maternity benefit for the first two children.

A family is allowed to spend maternity benefit money for buying, building or reconstruction of a housing, for education of a child or for integration or adaptation of children having disabilities, for a saving part of a maternal pension or monthly allowances for law-income families (ConsultantPlus-1, 2017). Easing of requirements related to the spending maternal capital money for private construction was included into the new law. When earlier only individual housing construction was allowed for families on their plots, since that year building erection is also permitted on a garden plot. As for today maternity capital validity is prolonged up to the end of 2026.

Since 2011 on behalf of the initiative of the federal authorities, regional ones began introducing additional measures of a social support for families with children. It was a positive reinforcer for families willing to have children.

Regional policy in this sphere is based on a social and demographic situation and budget capabilities of a region (Makar, 2020).

Since 2011, the regional maternal (family) capital in the Khabarovsk Territory has become an innovation. Parents can use it after the birth or adoption of the third kid, then for subsequent children. The Amount of this lump sum allowance was 200,000 rubles for children born before 01.01.2019 and 250,000 rubles for children born after 01.01.2019.

The lump sum benefit is provided in the region when the second and each subsequent child is born. One of parents has the right for the benefit. The amount of the benefit is 5000 rubles.

Pursuant to the Decree of the Russian Federation President No. 204 dated May 7th, 2018 (ConsultantPlus, 2018) the Khabarovsk Krai ministry has developed a regional project “Financial support of families in case of children birth” (Khabarovsk Krai population welfare ministry, 2019) and monitors it. The regional project “Financial support of families in case of children birth” is aimed at achieving one of the main objectives related to demographic development of the country, i.e. at the increase of a birth coefficient up to 1.7 all over Russia and up to 2.02 in the region by 2024.

A main objective of the project is the development of an economic independence of a family with children and the improvement of the families state support system.

Support of families within the framework of the project is performed Support for families within the project is carried out depending on the order of birth of the child. Each month, one of the parents receives payments for the first-born, electronically issued immediately after registration with the registry office. After registering the birth of the third child and so on, parents also issue a monthly allowance until the child is three years old.

The right for the monthly allowance is provided to the families in which the first child is born, if income amount per one family member is not more than 30,656 rubles. (since 01.01.2018). Amount of the benefit is 15248 thousand rubles. The allowance is awarded for the period until the child is 3 years old. When the third child and subsequent children are born (adopted) after December 31st, 2012, the monthly allowance is provided to one of (adoptive) parents in the families having an average income which does not exceed the average income of people in the region (in 2020 it is 39,083.70 rubles). The amount of the benefit is 15,248 rubles. The allowance is awarded beginning with the birth of a third child or subsequent children until a child is three years old, if application for the allowance was provided within a year after the birth of the third child or subsequent children. The above-mentioned allowance provides support of multi-child families due to the increase of the dependency load on employable family members.

Multi-child families of Khabarovsk Krai can obtain a land plot for free since November 2010. Such regional solution allows families to create their own subsistence farming for food needs satisfaction, as well as for human assets retaining in the Far East.

Since July 2019 additional measures of social support for families with children are established in the region in form of a lump sum allowance due to the birth of the first child and a regional maternity (family) capital due to the birth of the second child (Consultant Plus, 2019).

A lump sum allowance due to the birth of the first child is awarded to the Russian Federation citizens living in the territory of Khabarovsk Krai in case of the first child birth providing that a child is a citizen of the Russian Federation and is born after January 1st, 2019.

The allowance for children is paid off in amount of a doubled living wage for the second quarter of the year preceding the year of application for the above-mentioned allowance awarding. In 2020 its amount is RUB 30,362.

Families, in which the second child is born after January 1st, 2019, have a right for a regional maternity (family) capital. The amount of the allowance for children born before 01.01.2020 is RUB 135,907.8, and RUB 139,985.10 for children born after 01.01.2020.

The law of Khabarovsk Krai No. 58 dated March 20th, 2020 “On amending the law of Khabarovsk Krai “On additional measures of support for families with children on the territory of Khabarovsk Krai” and the decree of the Khabarovsk Krai government No. 146-pr dated April 10th, 2020 “On approval of awarding and payment of a monthly allowance for a child of three to seven years old inclusive” was adopted to execute the decree of the Russian Federation president No. 199 dated March 20th, 2020 (ConsultantPlus, 2011).

The right for allowance is awarded to the families having average income which is less than the living wage set in the region for the second quarter of the year preceding the year of application. In 2020 it is less than 14,369 rubles per one family member.

The amount of a monthly allowance per each under-age person at the age of 3 to 8 years old is a half of the living wage set for the second quarter of the year preceding the year of application. The amount of the allowance will be 7,590.5 rubles per month in 2020.

In Sweden, public payments are paid by parents before minors reach the age of 16 (Business Sweden, 2019). The German Government can allow families to support children up to the age of majority, moreover, provide monthly assistance to adults (up to 25 years old) studying in schools and universities (European Union, 2019). Child benefits are not paid off in the USA; in that country tax remissions are provided for (Lee et al., 2020).

As for today regional measures aimed at the position improvement of mothers willing to work and upbring their children are implemented in Khabarovsk Krai. The program includes activities and described is a procedure for retraining mothers raising children from birth to three years of age on vacation. An important milestone of the program is the opportunity to improve the qualifications of unemployed mothers whose children have not yet gone to primary school. Complex of measures within the framework of Khabarovsk Krai program “Retraining and professional improvement of women being on a childcare leave until a child is three years old, as well as of nonworking women having children and applied to employment service bodies in order to find a job for the period till 2024” (The official web-portal of legal information, 2019). Such retraining is carried out under the auspices of the larger national project “Demography.”

In 2019 during a childcare leave until a child is three years old, 94 women were trained according to the programs of vocational education and additional vocational education in order to recover knowledge and skills lost in the childcare leave, to acquire a new profession, to ease the work place adaptation period, to improve the employment possibility upon accomplishment of the maternity leave (the number of trained women exceeded the annual control indicators by one third).

Training was performed with the assistance of an employment service in relation to the following professions (specialities): procurement specialist, accountant, hairdresser, HR manager, manicure specialist, records manager, computer operator with study of various application software, confectioner, HSE specialist, kindergarten teacher, junior kindergarten teacher, speech-language pathologist, employment service specialist, kindergarten teacher assistant, dietitian, social worker, Russian language teacher, vocational education manager and others.

State contracts for women training have been concluded with 21 institutions providing educational activities, such as: Federal State-Financed Educational Institution of Higher Education “Komsomolsk-na-Amure State University”, Non-state Educational Private Institution of Higher Vocational Education “Amur Institute of Agricultural Economics and Business”, Independent Noncommercial Organization of Further Vocational Education “Knowledge Center “Professional”, Independent Noncommercial Educational Organization of Further Vocational Education “Pacific Higher School of Economics and Management” and others.

Remote training based on the programs of further vocational education with application of electronic technologies has been organized for 30 women living in remote areas (Okhotskiy area, Nikolaevskiy area, Sovetsko-gavanskiy area, Ulchskiy area, Verkhnebureinskiy area, Solnechniy area, area named after P. Osipenko, Nanaiskiy area, Bikinskiy area, Vyazemskiy area, area named after Lazo).

1,089.41 thousand rubles from the regional budget were spent for organization of professional education and further vocational education of women in 2019.

A targeted social assistance is provided in the region on the basis of social contracts (4140 families were provided with the targeted social assistance for the sum of RUB 52.8 million in 2019). Difficult life situation has been overcome by 1,773 families.

The implementation of the poverty rate decrease plan has been started in the region. According to the preliminary evaluation done by the regional ministry of economic development, in 2019 the population having income under the living wage was 10.7% of total population in the region (in 2018 it was 12.2%).

Recreation and rehabilitation of children from low-income families, children with disabilities and children from families being in a socially dangerous situation are provided in order to help families to improve their financial situation and overcome a difficult life situation (31.5 thousand of children are provided with organized recreation of various kinds including 2359 children from families being in a socially dangerous situation). The expenses were RUB 134.1 million (and RUB 135.4 million in 2018).

Due to the execution of a complex state support measures, the number of multi-child families was increased by 1,178 families during 2019 (by 1,357 families during 2018 and by 1,894 families during 2017) and now is equal to 17,910 families that is on 7.0% more than in 2018.

However according to the data of the Russian Federal State Statistics Service the number of residents in the region whose income was less that the living wage was equal to 10.7% in 2019.

4 Conclusions

A family is the most important social and economic resource of the future; however, its capabilities cannot be fulfilled in full without a state and regional support.

Social support for a family, mother/fatherhood and childhood is one of the top priorities for preservation of the country national security. A social state is interested in keeping a social stability in the society, economic well-being both across the country in general and in its regions in particular (Vologdina et al., 2020).

Khabarovsk Krai is a region with a difficult demographic situation where a key role is played by migration outflow of the population. The migration flows exceed the indicators of natural decline in the population by one third (Zubkov, 2019). Level of living is one of the conditions related to a regional attractiveness and population retaining. Due to this fact it seems appropriate to increase the age range from three to sixteen years inclusive when awarding a monthly child allowance. According to the allowance awarding procedure, the amount of a family average income shall not be more than 1.5 of the living wages which is set for employable part of Khabarovsk Krai population for the second quarter of the year preceding the year of application for the above-mentioned allowance awarding.

The proposed measures will allow to increase the number of people getting such a benefit by the improvement of living conditions for families with children alongside with the retaining of social support targeting and its efficiency from the viewpoint of the poverty rate decreasing among families with children, and among all population of the region in general, will cease the population outflow and facilitate the birth rate stimulation.