The Public Defender of Georgia welcomes and carefully monitors the deinstitutionalization of the Assisted Living Facility of St. Matthias the Apostle Foundation, which started after the implementation of monitoring and issuance of the relevant recommendation by the Public Defender in 2021.

The licence of the assisted living facility has been terminated since April 1, 2022. The facility is currently being reorganized into an educational institution. In particular, measures are being taken to return children to their biological families, and if the above is not possible, to transfer them to an environment close to the family.

On June 15, 2021, the Public Defender’s Office carried out a thorough monitoring of the assisted living facility and prepared a special report, where it was emphasized once again that the institutional arrangement and educational conditions of a large-sized institution were essentially contrary to the obligation to raise a child in a family environment.

In order to monitor the process of deinstitutionalization and assess the coordinated action of the state agencies, as well as the protection of the best interests of the child in the mentioned process, representatives of the Public Defender of Georgia visited the Assisted Living Facility of St. Matthias the Apostle Foundation on July 21, 2022.

In 2021, 122 children lived in the facility, while today there are only 23 children, some of whom will be transferred to a form of care close to the family in the near future, and for some minors, it is planned to appoint a guardian, taking into account their best interests and opinions.

The Public Defender of Georgia calls on the state agencies to implement all effective measures in a timely and coordinated manner in order to change the form of care of minors currently living in the institution and ensure their upbringing in a family environment.

See the special report of the Public Defender of August 16, 2021 on the results of the monitoring of the Assisted Living Facility of St. Matthias the Apostle Foundation at: https://bit.ly/3Bfb1Xv