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About Firefly

Firefly Children's Network was founded in 2000 by US parents who adopted from Russia and wanted to help the thousands of children with disabilities still languishing in Russian orphanages. Over the years, Firefly's mission has evolved to include:

Prevention and Reunification: keeping children in birth families and out of orphanages by supporting families with social services and medical care

Education and Training: disseminating international best practices and supporting well-trained Russians as they lead reform in their own country

In particular, Firefly focuses on training early intervention (EI) specialists. EI services are sorely needed in Russia because mothers who give birth to children with disabilities are often encouraged to give them up to state institutions; even without this influence many can't imagine how to care for their children at home since there aren't adequate support services in their communities. EI specialists reduce the flow of children into institutions by providing the services necessary for families to care for their kids at home.

Firefly's comprehensive three-year EI training program provides a year of periodic week-long intensive trainings from U.S. and Russian experts on assessing and diagnosing disabilities, working in inter-disciplinary teams, creating care plans for children, and supporting families. This is followed by two years of consultation and supervision by EI specialists from St. Petersburg.

International Voluntary Service Activities

In 2005-6, Firefly Children's Network teamed up volunteers/consultants from the University of New Mexico and the St. Petersburg Early Intervention Institute to develop a comprehensive three-year early intervention training program for Vladivostok, a city in the Russian Far East.

In 2007-08, Firefly expanded the trainings to several more sites in Vladivostok and Kazan, in western Russia. In addition, Firefly organized lectures by U.S. experts on the damage institutional life inflicts on children, and how to support socially at-risk families. From May 2007 to September 2008, six U.S. volunteers each spent a week teaching and training in Russia, and three or four more volunteers are needed for the period of October 2008 - June 2009.

Currently, Firefly has a pool of 10-15 potential volunteers, but is seeking to expand the number of qualified specialists able and willing to conduct trainings in Russia.