Dr. Ronald S. Federici / CEO-Care For Children International, Inc.
” The POST ” ( Parent Network For Post Institutionalized Children, 1994, 1998 )
Board Certified Developmental Neuropsychologist

This article is an excerpt from Dr. Federici’s book, Help For The Hopeless Child: A Guide For
Families( with special discussion for assessing and treating the post-institutional child)
Over the twenty years, there has been a tremendous influx of children coming from post-
institutionalized settings in various Eastern Bloc, South American and South East Asian
countries. These children have often been placed in hospital-based or classic institutional
settings following illnesses or even death of the biological parents or the parent’s general
inability to care for the child’s emotional needs. Children from Eastern Bloc countries in
particular have been rapidly placed in institutionalized settings due to the demise of the
communist systems which left families overwhelmed and unable to care for their children,
particularly children with ANY level of handicap. Medical care for the “average person” was
unavailable and families were often compelled to “turn over” their child to State care. The
hundreds of thousands of children from poverty stricken, alcoholic, chaotic/abusive and
homeless families have made their way through a very archaic and “defective child” oriented
system where children have been” triaged” to various institutions based on brief screenings o
family backgrounds. Some children have been able to be adopted very early in their
development-thereby sparing prolonged and neglectful institutional care. Unfortunately, most
children languish in poor care setting with limited food, medical care, nurturing and
caretaking, educational enrichment, or even humane conditions.

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