AbstractThe article presents study results towards a problem of psychological and educational support of substituting family selection for orphaned children of pre-school age. This problem is the issue of the day in modern Russia. We conducted a survey with a primary objective to study social and psychological particularities of substituting families and their educational deficits in development and upbringing of a pre-school age child. The obtained results showed generalized social and psychological difficulties of parents which require special psychological and educational support and selection criteria of parents who are going to adopt pre-school age children without parental care.