Russian families whose children have not secured places in kindergartens are being proposed to receive social vouchers to compensate for expenses on private preschool educational institutions or nanny services. The bill was introduced to the State Duma by LDPR deputies. The Cabinet of Ministers recommended further refinement.
The proposal concerns places in state or municipal kindergartens. If a place in a kindergarten is not available, the state should compensate parents’ expenses through a social voucher, noted LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky.
According to him, this will be a good help for parents who will be able to continue working full-time. Not all families have the option to leave their children in the care of grandparents or hire a nanny.
Currently, such measures are in place in several regions of Russia, and the authors of the amendments suggest extending this practice to the federal level. However, in some regions, compensation for the lack of kindergarten places amounts to only 2-2.5 thousand rubles per child, which is insufficient.
LDPR proposes to finance the costs of such vouchers based on the specific number of children who did not secure places in kindergartens in a particular region.
Social vouchers will be intended for payment of services for childcare. They can be obtained not only by parents but also by legal representatives of the child.
The Cabinet of Ministers stated that the bill requires significant refinement.
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