On October 15, 2021, the Public Defender’s Office, with the support of the United Nations Developmemt Programme, organised Online Conference on Implementation of Social Rehabilitation and Child Care State Programmes in Georgia.

„Targeted programmes for children amd persons with disabilities and the challenges identified during the implementation of these programmes in 2018-2020 were discussed at the conference. Participants also talked about the situation of services for children/persons with disabilities in day centers. Within the framework of the White Cane Safety Day, the needs of the blind and persons with visual impairment were particularly emphasized. The services provided for in the social rehabilitation and child care state programmes have not substantially changed over years. In some cases, services are created and introduced on the basis of individual needs of persons with disabilities. However, the geographical accessibility of almost all services is a problem. The State mostly fails to cover all children/persons with disabilities across the country and services have waiting lists. The programmes are not developed on the basis of the study of needs or statistical data“, Deputy Public Defender Ekaterine Skhiladze said at the opening of the event.

Welcome speeches were delivered by Nick Beresford, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia, Mikheil Sarjveladze, Head of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committe of the Parliament of Georgia, Tamila Barkalaia, Deputy Minister of IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, and Niko Tatulashvili, Human Rights Adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia.

The findings of the Public Defender’s Report on the Analysis of the Social Rehabilitation and Child Care State Programmes 2018-2020 were presented by the author of the study, Gia Kakachia. Nino Valikova, a representative of the Public Defender’s Office, spoke about the key findings of the minitoring report on day centers for persons with disabilities.

The online conference was attended by representatives of the parliament, executive government, international and local organizations, as well as representatives of service provider organizations and other stakeholders.