Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of the social services for families raising children with severe and multiple disabilities – "Respite Care". The implementation of the social service is aimed at providing legal representatives of children with severe and multiple disabilities with the opportunity to take a break from performing their duties, taking care of the child. The subject of the study is the possibilities and difficulties of implementing "Respite Care" as an innovative social service for families raising children with severe and multiple disabilities in the Altai region. The implementation of the social service is analyzed in the context of the ecosystem model of social work and normalization theory, paying special attention to ensuring decent living conditions for families of people with disabilities. The authors present the results of an empirical sociological study, the main empirical method of which was the survey of specialists of social service organizations, non-profit organizations and volunteers of the Altai region. The article discusses the definition of the "Respite Care", its content, the authors analyze statistical data on child disability in the Altai region. Based on the results of the study, both the possibilities and difficulties of implementing "Respite care" as an innovative social service for families raising children with severe and multiple disabilities in the region are identified, namely: training of specialists; development of methodological and consulting support for specialists; inclusion of social service in the state list of social services.

Abstract: The object of this research is the in social rehabilitation of children with mental disability in the conditions of children psychoneurological boarding school. The actors of social rehabilitation of children with mental disability in boarding schools can become the specially training volunteers. Since 2017, the students of the department of Social Work of Altai State University implement various volunteering practices in the regional children psychoneurological establishments. One of such activities is the clown care. The subject of this research is the capabilities of volunteers-hospital clowns in social rehabilitation of children with mental disability in the conditions of children psychoneurological boarding schools. Such volunteering activities are analyzed on the basis of the theory of resiliency. The authors conducted am empirical sociological research; the main method was the questionnaire-based survey. The article gives definition to mental disability, as well as studies the statistical data on the children disability in Russia and Altai Krai. Attention is given to identification of the problems of children development in such establishments based on determination of the fundamental objectives of functioning of these institutions and the analysis of modern research on children’s’ situation in the children psychoneurological boarding schools in Russia. The authors determine the capabilities, as well as difficulties in the work of volunteers-hospital clowns, including modulation of emotions, establishment of connection, and work with special needs children.