The Public Defender has proposed the Government of Georgia to ensure support measures for independent living of persons with disabilities leaving care.

The persons with disabilities, who were under the state care in their childhood, have to leave respective institutions after reaching full age without any preparations for independent living. The state does not offer them adequate support, due to which, apart from facing other social and economic problems, they are left without housing and necessary services. Therefore, they are unable to fully enjoy the fundamental human rights and freedoms.

The Government does not have a clear policy/strategy, which would provide adequate standards for independent living or opportunities for overcoming barriers for people with disabilities leaving care. In some cases the issue is regulated by national regulations, though in most cases they are inefficient in practice.

Statistical data analysis makes it clear that support measures for independent living of persons with disabilities leaving care do not require big financial resources from the state and are not an insurmountable burden, if there exists a relevant will.

Given the above-mentioned, the Public Defender has addressed the Government with the following recommendations:

• To provide legislative regulation of support measures for independent living of persons with disabilities leaving care, through engagement of responsible ministries, in compliance with the commitments under the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• To develop a strategy and an action plan on support measures for independent living of persons with disabilities leaving care, through engagement of responsible state agencies and persons with disabilities, which will provide practical implementation of the rights guaranteed by the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• The action plan should provide for specific programs promoting independent living of persons with disabilities leaving care and should clearly define objectives, state agencies responsible for their implementation, performance indicators, shortest possible terms and specific funding sources.
• The programs included in the action plan should cover components of preparation for independent living, housing, financial support, training, employment and development of life skills for persons with disabilities leaving care.
• The programs included in the strategy and the action plan should define support services for people with disabilities leaving care, based on individual needs.
• The Government should create mechanism/format for effective cooperation and coordination between the state agencies for ensuring effective spending of budget assignments allocated to the ministries for taking various support efforts for independent living of persons with disabilities.
• The Government of Georgia should immediately provide asylums and adequate social protection to persons with disabilities leaving care which are in critical need for it.