Firefly and the Moscow office of KPMG have joined forces to build the capacity of professionals offering qualified healthcare, education and social services support to families in Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia. Their collaborative work was awarded “Best Project in Developing Local Communities” in Russia by The Managers’ Association of Russia as part of its “People Investor 2011” Forum.

This winning project, “From Institutional Care to Family Support” is an innovative 3-year program that educates healthcare, education and social services professionals who work with Russian families that are socially at risk, raising children with disabilities, and fostering or adopting young children from institutions. The project mission is to prevent institutionalization by developing support services for babies, young children and their families.

This program has created a supportive community of professionals in Nizhny Novgorod Region and infused new knowledge and skills into the practices of family support centers, pediatric clinics, rehabilitation centers and institutions. In addition, Firefly is developing written guidelines and assessment standards for early intervention programs to make these new services permanent features of the Ministries of Health and Social Policy. This program is achieving impressive results and has built a firm foundation for significant advancements in the future.

If you are interested in learning more about this specific program, or if you would like to be involved in a new project to accomplish similar goals, please contact Firefly’s Program Director, Melinda Richards, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .