MOSCOW, September 25 - RAPSI. The State Duma plans to establish a working group to finalize for the second reading a government bill on introducing assistance to at-risk children, according to a statement made by Family, Women and Children Committee Deputy Head Olga Batalina on Tuesday.

The bill was submitted on March 23 and aims to introduce a new form of individual preventive support for children from disadvantaged families and parents in difficult situations. Such social patronage will include social, educational, medical and psychological assistance and help in defending minors' rights.

"We are planning a group that will traditionally include representatives of NGOs with an interest in the subject, and we will work on the vague wording that worries society for the second reading," she said.

According to the draft, child assistance will be performed by wardship and guardianship authorities with parental consent and by taking into account the opinions of minors over the age of 10. Child assistance can be prescribed if a guardianship authority finds that parental actions or omissions prevent a child's education or development, or affect his conduct. On Tuesday, a number of Duma deputies sought to end the discussion of the bill, as it has not been supported by society at large, which believes it could be detrimental to family relations.