EveryChild.ge News Feed

Large new project ‘Strengthening Child Care Services and Systems Launched

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:32:09 -0500

01/02/2011 -- EvC Georgia has started activities on a new and exciting project Strengthening Child Care Services & Systems. This is an ambitious 3 year project, funded by USAID through UNICEF, and involves key actors of child welfare reform in Georgia; EveryChild, Save the Children, Children of Georgia and The First Step led by The Ministry of Labour, Health & Social Affairs of Georgia. Essentially this project aims to ensure that in a few short years there will be no more large scale residential institutions in Georgia!

The Government of Georgia is in the midst of reforming the child welfare system and is continuing to build on achivements to date in preventing the overuse of large-scale residential institutions for children in care by recently introducing a new Plan of Action for 2011-2012, entitled ‘Major Areas of Child Care System Reform’. This clearly and explicitly states that ensuring children receive care in a family-like environment is the overarching priority for child care services in Georgia in the coming years, thus recognising that the family environment provides the best care for the survival, development, safety and protection of children. It is within this context that the project ‘Strengthening Child Care Services and Systems’ evolved, making the expansion, support and provision of alternative care services a key focus as well as prevention of family separation. To date there has been a significant reduction in children residing in insitutions, however with the planned closure of the remaining 20 institutions by 2012, affecting 1300 children, there is an urgent need to boost support for family reunification, Foster Care, Small Group Home services, and strengthen the gatekeeping mechanism to ensure children are not unnecessarily placed in alternative care. This initiative will also focus on strengthening community- based family support services and emphasize the inclusion of children with disabilities.

Within this framework, EvC Georgia has been tasked with three core areas of work covering Foster Care, Small Group Homes and Access to Social Benefits. The Foster Care component will include a large outreach, recruitment and training of foster carers initiative as well as contributing towards the development of an effective Foster Care strategy for Georgia for the coming years. Within the context of Small Group Homes, EvC will provide technical assistance and training for caregivers of new SGHs to be established in 2011. Lastly, via a network of mobile Social Workers, EvC will support the expansion and access to social benefits for vulnerable households through outreach activities. EvC will work closely with project partners to implement and facilitate all activities related to these core areas of work over the coming months. This project will help ensure that all vulnerbale children in Georgia can live and grow in a strong family environment in the future and will constitute a major achievement in the area of child welfare reform.

Georgian Foster Care Organisation established

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The much-anticipated Georgian Foster Care Organisation (GFCO) – the first of its kind in the country - was registered on 28 February 2011 within the framework of the new EU-funded Advocacy for Participation to Protect Children’s Rights project, implemented by EveryChild Georgia.

As of now, GFCO has over 90 members nationwide.

The founders signed the GFCO statutes at the National Registry in Tbilisi in the presence of a legal expert and EveryChild representative. They have also elected four out of seven Board Members and the Chairperson, Ms. Tea Kiria.

According to Ms. Kiria, who has served as an EveryChild foster carer over the past few years, the main purpose of creating this Organisation is to protect the interests and rights of the foster carers and the children in their care nationwide.

GFCO aims to contribute to the development of Georgian civil society and will support a wide range of activities aimed at enhancing the capacity for advocacy. Key areas of work will include; development of research and assessment of needs, planning and implementing advocacy campaigns, development and promotion of foster care in Georgia, promote the advancement of skills of foster carers, contribute towards improvement and implementation of modern foster care standards, as well as conducting charity and educational work.

“GFCO will become the main driving force in efforts to advocate improvements in the levels, variety and quality of support to children in FC and their foster parents. Foster Care has proved itself as the best care alternative when living with biological or extended family is not an option. We hope that GFCO with support from EveryChild and other partners will be able to achieve real and sustainable changes to how the government supports and promotes foster care, amongst other family support and family substitute services,” said Andro Dadiani, Director of EveryChild Georgia.

EveryChild Georgia and GFCO organized several meetings with ver 100 non-kinship foster carers in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. These meetings served as a forum for conveying the purpose, aims, structure and membership terms of the GFCO to its prospective members. Member recruitment and outreach efforts continue to date.

New Report launched!

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:01:00 -0500

A new report entitled Protect for the Future: placing children’s protection and care at the heart of achieving the MDGs has been launched on the 13th of July in London.

Please see our 'Reports' section for more:

http://everychild.ge/resources/reports/

First Case of Emergency Foster Care

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:52:47 -0500

There are cases when a child may be left with no family care because of an unexpected emergency, as a result of parental neglect, health problems in the biological family or due to acute economic need. Children in this situation will often end up in an institution or on the street faced with even more physical and emotional hardship. Solutions ensuring a better immediate help for the child in a family setting exist however, and must be explored.

On the 25 February 2010 EveryChild Georgia carried out the first ever Emergency Foster Care Placement to help a child facing a frightening and uncertain future. The three year old with a mild physical birth trauma and experiencing parental neglect, was referred for a placement Tbilisi. The child will temporarily live in a caring family environment where the parents already have two children of their own.

EveryChild Georgia together with the Social Services Agency (SSA) are helping children in need of Short Term Foster Care, by placing them in approved Emergency Foster families within a very short time. Placed in Emergency Care children can continue to enjoy family life until they can reunite with their families or secure a long-term placement. This service is available for 1 day and for up to 3 months. EveryChild Georgia is not only advocating for the extensive use of Emergency Foster Care in Georgia, but has trained emergency Foster Carers to be called upon in these situations.

EveryChild launches new project

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:15:01 -0500

“In Attempt to Better Lives”

In April 2010, EveryChild Georgia launched the project “Assessment of Special Boarding Schools under the Ministry of Education and Science” to support the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia in optimization of the network of Special Boarding schools in Georgia and help establish an effective gate-keeping mechanism.

During the four month project , 465 children from 8 boarding schools located in different regions of Georgia will undergo detailed assessment with aim of their further deinstitutionalization into families or family-like settings, identifying the need for alternative, community-based care services.

The project was planned and elaborated on the basis of earlier and recent studies carried out by various child oriented organizations, which showed that although the beneficiaries of schools with residential care can be children with special educational needs due to disability or behavior problems, in reality the majority of children placed in these establishments are without parental care.

Moreover, in many boarding schools clinical diagnosis is limited to labeling, primarily “Mental retardation”, and to irrelevant diagnosing of children, high proportion remaining undiagnosed even after placement.

Despite the reduction in the number of institutionalized children in Georgia, a half or in some cases over a half of the children currently living in boarding schools have been there for four or more years and have been receiving few visits from biological parents, which has jeopardized their long-term physical and psychosocial development and reduced their chances to be out up for alternative care services.

The project will be implemented with financial support of UNICEF and close collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs and the local NGO Children of Georgia which is a main partner of EveryChild in this project and has a unique and a long-term experience of working with children who have special needs.

The project sets three objectives:

1. Comprehensive assessment of beneficiary children and their families-the real statuses of the children entering the service, carrying out physical and psychological and social assessments of each child. This comprehensive assessment will produce clear recommendations for each child in terms of whether reunification or some other placement is appropriate, and what support would be needed to achieve the best interests of the child.
2. Rapid assessment of the programs existing in these institutions, as well as the physical environment at the institution and the capacity of the staff working there to carry out existing and new development/educational programs.
3. Participate in the consultations, together with relevant stakeholders from government Ministries, local NGOs and other entities concerned with the future plight of children in boarding schools to put forward a set of recommendations for these types of schools in the country and develop plans for further deinstitutionalization.

Direct beneficiaries of the project will be 465 children residing at the above mentioned boarding schools. Indirect beneficiaries will include community informants in the Rayons concerned, whom this project can help in attempting to resolve wider child care problems, various representatives of the Government and NGO stakeholders involved in working group meetings in the last stage of the project whom this project can aid in successful optimization of the boarding schools and representatives of educational agencies working for inclusion whom this project can aid in coming up with plans of integrating children with disabilities into local schools.

In addition, a rapid assessment of the human capacity and physical environment at each boarding school will be carried out. Human capacity assessment will include interviews with staff and caregivers and observation of their work and their interaction with children.

A physical environment assessment will include assessments of all basic care needs, amenities and residential, play and educational equipment. A safety assessment will also be conducted on all available facilities.

It is expected that at least 15% of children without any special needs, currently residing in these boarding schools will be deinstitutionalized as a result of the above interventions. For cases of children that will not be deinstitutionalized in duration of the project, the case files for each individual child with recommended placement and/or assistance intervention will be handed over to the statutory SW services for further follow up.

Upon completion of the project, it is expected that EveryChild Georgia will have a clear picture of physical, psychosocial and academic needs of all children residing in these schools. Awareness of the plight of children in boarding schools will be raised amongst Government partners in order to develop a realistic strategy for these types of schools in Georgia.

New Small Group Home Opened in Dusheti

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500

On 27 September, 2010, EveryChild Georgia opened a new Small Group Home in the Dusheti region. The project was initiated by the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs and funded by UNICEF.

The need for setting up a Small Group Home in the Dusheti region emerged after an assessment of Dusheti Children’s Institution, followed by the decision of the Ministry to close down the institution and offer children alternative family based care services as a part of the ongoing process of optimization of children’s institutions throughout the country.

The model of the SGH service is based on EvC Georgia’s experience in Rustavi city. It provides 24 hour care for 8 children aged between 4-18, looked after by two permanent and two replacement parents who ensure that the service is as close to the family type environment as possible, meeting all physical, material and developmental needs of the children. Apart from that the SGH offers “8+1” model of placement, which means 8 permanent places and one short term/emergency care placement.

For smooth running and further sustainability of the service, the project provided training of service staff in caretaking, Child Welfare issues, Child Participation and National Minimum Standards on Family Support Services.

In May, the management of the SGH will be handed to another organization, which will continue service provision as envisaged initially.

Closing Conference of EU Funded “Support to Child Welfare Reform Project''

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:16:51 -0500

On 29 April 2010 EveryChild Georgia marked the closing ceremony of the EU funded “Support to Child Welfare Project”. The closing conference brought together 150 stakeholders, including representatives of different child welfare organizations, Georgian government, local and international NGOs and other interested parties. The participants were given the opportunity to attend plenary sessions and participate in two workshops (six workshops, split into three simultaneous sessions) provided in parallel sets.

The event opened with a speech by the Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia (MoLHSA), Aleksandr Kvitashvili who spoke about the crucial importance of the project in the process of Child Welfare development in Georgia and thanked all parties involved in support and implementation activities. Ms. Joanna Baskott, Team Leader of the Project presented an Overview of the Project Results and spoke about achievements under each result set by the project:

a)Secondary legislation and child welfare policy framework strengthened b) Child welfare system functions transferred to the MoLHSA and the responsible central and regional structures are delivering relevant modern statutory child care services c) Capacity at national and lower administrative levels to plan, manage, and monitor the reformed child care system is strengthened d) Capacity of the implementing bodies at lower administrative level to offer alternative child care services created and strengthened and e) Throughout the country people have a better understanding of the importance for a child of growing up in a family environment.

Following this, a presentation on Child Welfare Government Action Plan was given by the Deputy Minister of MoLHSA – Mr. David Lomidze. Achievements made in respect of Child care Standards and further steps planned to drive changes in quality of care were highlighted in presentations made by Ms. Salome Chichinadze (Chief Specialist of Child Care and Social Programme Division, MoLHSA). Ms. Salome Namicheishvili (Training Expert of EU SCWR Project) overviewed Georgian National Minimum Standards and spoke about the steps taken from piloting to implementation phase.

The closing part of the conference was dedicated to an overview of future steps in Child Welfare Reform, where the importance of building on the achieved results was again highlighted and a special emphasis was given to continuing collaboration between different state and non-state parties in further endeavors to support children and their rights.

We thank everyone for taking part!

New Small Group Home Opened in Dusheti

Fri, 06 May 2011 02:23:18 -0500

On 27 September, 2010, EveryChild Georgia opened a new Small Group Home in the Dusheti region. The project was initiated by the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs and funded by UNICEF.

The need for setting up a Small Group Home in the Dusheti region emerged after an assessment of Dusheti Children’s Institution, followed by the decision of the Ministry to close down the institution and offer children alternative family based care services as a part of the ongoing process of optimization of children’s institutions throughout the country.

The model of the SGH service is based on EvC Georgia’s experience in Rustavi city. It provides 24 hour care for 8 children aged from 6 to 18 years, looked after by two permanent and two replacement parents who ensure that the service is as close to the family type environment as possible, meeting all physical, material and developmental needs of the children. Apart from that the SGH offers “8+1” model of placement, which means 8 permanent places and one short term/emergency care placement.

For smooth running and further sustainability of the service, the project provided training of service staff in caretaking, Child Welfare issues, Child Participation and National Minimum Standards on Family Support Services.

In May, the management of the SGH will be handed to another organization, which will continue service provision as envisaged initially.

Georgian Youth and Adults Trained in Participatory Advocacy

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 05:54:39 -0500

30 May 2011, Tbilisi

Within the framework of the recently launched project Advocacy for Participation to Protect Children's Rights, funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, EveryChild Georgia organized training in principles of participatory advocacy for alternative child care service providers and users on 27-29 May in Tbilisi.

Pre-selected training participants came from different regions representing Small Group Homes, Day Care Centers and Foster Families. Most of them were beneficiaries of the project's associated partner organizations Caritas Georgia, Foundation Breath Georgia, SOS Children's Village Georgia, Society Biliki, Child and Environment, and the newly established Georgian Foster Care Organisation.

The training was held in two parallel groups comprising sixteen adults and fifteen teens aged 14 to 17. Leading the training was an a local advocacy expert supported by the EveryChild team. Among other topics, the training sessions covered child participation, advocacy strategies and techniques, and analysis of the target groups through presentations, group work and role play.

In addition to formal training, the youth group’s agenda also included a trip to Bowling Central Tbilisi and a visit to the movie theatre "Amirani", owing to the in-kind contributions of these two establishments.

At the closing ceremony, the Country Director of EveryChild Georgia, Andro Dadiani addressed participants and presented their Certificates. He stressed the importance of the local and international non-governmental organizations’ involvement in the process of developing national child welfare policy and programmes. He also outlined future plans in terms of training participants’ potential involvement in the ongoing nationwide assessment of the alternative child care services that will serve as the basis for developing the advocacy strategy to be implemented at the later stage of the project.

Graduation Ceremony for newly trained Social Workers

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:58:21 -0500

Mr. Andrew Urushadze presenting Khatia Sharikadze (EveryChild
Social Worker) with her certificate. Photo courtesy of UNICEF.

May 19^th saw the official ‘Graduation Ceremony’ of the first round of newly trained social workers under the USAID/ UNICEF project ‘Strengthening Child Care Services & Systems’. Within the framework of this project 50 new social workers have been recruited through EveryChild Georgia and Save the Children. They will play a vital role in the child welfare reform process in Georgia in the coming months and years, and 30 of the new recruits will be absorbed into the Social Services Agency from January 2012. Strengthening the role of social workers is a key aim of the project which will contribute to the continued success of reform in this sphere, the goal of which is to ensure that every child in Georgia grows up in a family type environment. Social workers will be supporting activities related to the closing down of all remaining large scale institutions, as well as boosting of alternative care services including foster care and small group homes.

Mr. Kent Logsdon, Mr. Andrew Urushadze & Mr. Roeland Monasch (from left to right). Photo courtesy of UNICEF.

Eleven social workers were awarded certificates at the ceremony for successful completion of an Induction to Social Work training course. The training has been facilitated by the Georgian Association of Social Workers on behalf of EveryChild Georgia and aimed to equip BA and MA in Social Work degree holders with relevant skills to take on social work functions. Two additional groups without academic qualifications have embarked on a more long term Foundation of Social Work Practice course, which will come to an end in September. The ceremony was attended and officiated by Mr. Andrew Urushadze, Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs; Mr. Kent Logsdon, Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Georgia; & Mr. Roeland Monasch, UNICEF representative in Georgia.

NGOs Present the Needs Assessment of the Alternative Child Care Services

Tue, 01 May 2012 05:31:15 -0500

On 27 April 2012, international NGO EveryChild and its partner organizations presented findings of the Needs Assessment of Alternative Child Care Services - an evaluation of foster care, Small Group Homes (SGHs) and Day Care Centers (DCCs).

Under the aegis of an ongoing Deinstitutionalization reform, these three services are provided to children lacking parental care by the State, through a number of local and international non-governmental organisations.

The Needs Assessment was carried out within the framework of the Advocacy for Participation to Protect Children’s Rights project funded by the European Union and implemented by EveryChild. It is the first assessment to evaluate all three types of alternative child care services.

The project’s implementing partner - Children of Georgia - conducted nationwide interviews and focus groups with 344 individuals: foster parents and foster care beneficiaries; SGH managers, caregivers and beneficiaries; and DCC managers, teachers, beneficiaries and their biological parents.

The Needs Assessment showed that the service providers and users are in general satisfied with provided services and strongly support their existence in the country. However, they noted a range of needs which have to be met to ensure that the diversity and quality of services provided to children is maintained and further improved.

Based on the findings of the Needs Assessment, 11 project partner organizations jointly developed recommendations focused on systemic/structural, administrative, healthcare, education, finance and capacity building thematic areas.

Out of 70 recommendations 1 has already been fully implemented, while 20 are currently in the process of being implemented with a varying degree of progress. Yet, there are still 49 recommendations that require attention.

Between now and August, the project partners plan to conduct individual and group meetings with policy-makers, donors, central and local governments and to collaborate with mass media in order to raise the awareness about identified needs and advocate for implementation of developed recommendations.

Active involvement of foster care, SGH and DCC service providers and users (both children and their biological parents) in effective planning of the State action plans for alternative child care will ensure that the intended budget more accurately reflects the actual needs of children using these services. Institutionalising their participation will ensure transparency of the planning process and serve as an effective mechanism for receiving regular feedback through two-way communication so that the children’s rights are duly met.

Project partners are: Children of Georgia, Georgian Foster Care

Organisation, Caritas Georgia, Foundation Breath – Georgia, SOS Children’s Villages Georgia, Child and Environment, Society Biliki, First Step Georgia, Public Health and Medicine Development Fund (PHMDF) and the Young Pedagogues’ Union.

Deinstitutionalization reform has been implemented in Georgia since 1999 with the purpose of closing down large-scale Soviet-type children’s institutions (so called “orphanages”). At the start of the reform 5500 children were living in institutions and boarding schools These children have been either reintegrated into their biological families, placed in foster care, or in SGHs. Today only 387 of them still remain in 9 state-run institutions for both healthy and disabled children. The reform is to be completed by the end of 2012.