Homelessness and street life have extremely detrimental effects on children. Because of their unstable lifestyles, lack of medical care, and inadequate living conditions, they are one of the most vulnerable groups of a society. The project will establish services and mechanisms that will help identifying children living and working in the streets, in order to offer them immediate support and protection.

1. Services for children In the end…
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Four mobile teams consisting of social workers psy-
chologists, teachers and peer educators, assess eve- We reach This project is funded
by the European Union
ry child (and their families if possible) who is living at least 500 children in Tbilisi
and/or working on the streets in Tbilisi (in year one)
and in Batumi or Kutaisi (in year two). Obtaining the and around 150 children REACHING VULNERABLE
trust of these children is crucial for mobile teams in west Georgia CHILDREN IN GEORGIA
during the assessment process. The assessment also
includes whether there are adequate services that providing them with Children Living or
consider the needs of these children and their fami-
lies. the necessary quality services. Working on the Streets
Day-care/Crisis Intervention Centers
Four daycare centers have been renovated and fully
equipped. These centers offer specific services, in- After being moved off the streets and having
cluding support in developing life skills, psychologi- received interim rehabilitation and education
cal support, medical support, informal education opportunities, children find safe and caring
and entertainment-education. The centers are run family environments, or alternative services
and operated by NGOs. Informal education prepared that meet their rights to education, health and
these children for further enrollment into the formal protection.
education system. The staff of the centers are trained
to provide quality services. The running costs of
these services are financed by the state.
24 hour Transition Centers Family for Every Child…
Three 24 hour Transition Centers have been reno-
vated, equipped and their staff have been trained.
These centers help the children to adapt to life off
the street and eventually be integrated into main-
stream formal care services (such as foster care or
small group homes) or reunited with their biological ვიზრუნოთ ყველაზე
families.
დაუცველ ბავშვებზე
Working with families
ქუჩაში მცხოვრები და
A crucial part is working with the biological families
of the children concerned. Specialists consult fami- მომუშავე ბავშვები
lies and offer all possible support available in the
country. Reunification is a priority when it is in the
best interest of the children.
GEORGIA

2. Partners team activity with the other state social workers,
provide funds to the partner NGOs and ensure the
The initiative is led by the Ministry of Labour, delivery of quality services.
Health and Social Affairs and is being implemented
in partnership with UNICEF and with the financial The Ministry of Justice addresses issues of child
support of the EU. documentation (e.g. introducing temporary ID
Who are these children? numbers while full documentation paperwork
In November 2011, the Ministry of Labour Health is processed) to help children get enrolled into
“Highly vulnerable children” are children who re- and Social Affairs initiated the formation of the in- services and links this initiative with the juvenile
quire the special attention of the state and the teragency Steering Committee, which is the major crime prevention and anti-trafficking strategy.
support of the community. These are mostly chil- decision making and supervisory body of the state
policy on highly vulnerable children. It includes The Ministry of Internal Affairs establishes close
dren who live and/or work on the streets, are vic- collaboration between the mobile teams and dis-
tims of abuse and neglect and children who are in representatives of the Ministry of Labour Health
and Social Affairs, the Social Service Agency, the trict police; ensures that policemen know how to
conflict with the law. interact with highly vulnerable children and chil-
State Fund for Protection and Assistance of Vic-
Children who live and/or work on the streets are tims of Human Trafficking, the Ministry of Internal dren in conflict with the law.
a major focus of this initiative. The planned ac- Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Edu- The Ministry of Finance is responsible for sustain-
tivities create the appropriate mechanisms and cation and Science, the Ministry of Finance, the able state financing.
systems that can cover and address the needs of Public Defender’s Office, the Tbilisi Municipality,
other related, vulnerable groups over time. the Georgian Association of Social Workers, the The Ministry of Education and Science enrolls
EU and UNICEF. children in the mainstream education system;
According to various studies there are up to 1,500 works with children that have special educational
children living and working on the streets in Georgia. What exactly the different agencies do: needs, assesses their skills, develops individual
learning plans and monitors their achievements at
The Ministry of Labour Health and Social Affairs the school level.
What do we want to achieve and the Social Service Agency conduct the over-
all coordination and supervision of the activities The Tbilisi Municipality provides the premises for
We aim at creating an effective state-led mecha- related to the highly vulnerable children, lead service providers and ensures that vulnerable chil-
nism for children who live and/or work on the the development of the state concept on highly dren in Tbilisi have access to all the services they
streets. The initiative will establish services and vulnerable children, place mobile social workers are entitled to.
mechanisms that will identify children living and inside its Child Care Division, synchronize mobile The partner NGOs, World Vision, Caritas Georgia
working on the streets, offer them immediate sup- and Child and Environment, provide quality ser-
port and protection and work with them and their vices to the children targeted by this initiative.
families with the ultimate goal of integrating them They ensure that children receive appropriate, in-
into existing protection services. dividually tailored services through mobile teams
working directly with children on the streets, day
Timing and location care/crisis intervention centers and 24 hour tran-
sitional centers.
The project lasts for two years. The initiative is being
rolled out in Tbilisi during the first year and the activ-
ities will cover Batumi or Kutaisi in the second year.