RIGHTS OF CHILDREN IN SMALL FAMILY-TYPE CHILDREN’S HOMES the implementation of the Public Defender’s recommendations issued after its monitoring of the small family-type children’s homes in 2012. The monitoring revealed systemic violations that can be mended only through zealous efforts and a method-based approach. We would like to stress the shortcomings that could not be eradicated during the reporting period. In particular, the educators’ qualifications and the quality of psychologic/psychiatric services provided to children under State care remain a problem. Problems existing in this area will be dealt with in detail in a separate comprehensive report about the monitoring of small family-type children’s homes, which is scheduled to be published in 2014. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT QQ Pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,109 every child has the right to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. States are therefore obligated to ensure adequate conditions to children to meet their obligation under the cited provision. For full-fledged development, children need to be raised in conditions that are close to a family environment. After the children’s educational institutions were replaced with small family-type children’s homes, the beneficiaries’ conditions of living have significantly improved. The way their individual needs are responded and the surrounding infrastructure are now near to family environment. The buildings and the yards are clean. The yards are fenced. Floor space per each beneficiary is 6 square meters. Almost all of the homes are equipped with central heating, furniture, household equipment, inventory, items of hygiene, telephone, natural and artificial lighting, bathrooms and toilets of acceptable standards, kitchens and dining rooms. Each child has his/her private space and drawers to keep their clothes and items. All windows are furnished with curtains. The bedrooms are equipped with modern wooden beds, linen, wardrobes, bedside tables, writing tables and chairs. In some of the children’s homes, however, our monitoring groups detected problems needing to be addressed in a timely manner. For example, the location of some of the children’s homes makes it difficult for the children to access formal/informal education facilities and healthcare services; ceilings and walls are damaged because of leakage of precipitation through the roof; 110 111 the windows and the doors are no longer fit for purpose and are unable to hold stabile temperature in the building, the vent hoods in the kitchen and the bathroom are dysfunctional, the inventory has not been renewed since 2007 and the children have to keep their personal items on chairs;112 the light bulbs in the children’s rooms are out of order and the children have to prepare their lessons under the light of table lamps.113 No Internet connection is available. Since there is no 24-hour water supply, the administration collects water in a tank located in a 15 square-meter room where the ceiling and the walls are musty; the temperature in the building does not meet the established requirement; the exhaust from the natural gas combustion unit of the central heating system goes outside through the wall but the tube is so short that the exhaust penetrates into the rooms creating the danger of people getting intoxicated. For this reason, the children have to keep their windows shut.114 In almost all of the small family-type children’s homes toothbrushes are kept in shared cups without any signs on them to discern their owners. During the monitoring it was found out that at many of the small family-type children’s homes the children do not 109 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 27(1). 110 “My Home”, Kipshidze Street No. 9, Tbilisi. 111 “Divine Child Georgia”, Village Galavani, Mtskheta. 112 “Partnership for Children”, Apt. 40/21, 7th Floor, Building 1, 11th Micro-rayon, Rustavi. 113 “Bres Georgia”, G. Orbeliani Street No. 6, Telavi. 114 Association “Biliki”, Shola Street No. 1, Khashuri. 2013 One of the children’s homes in Tbilisi115 is surrounded by a territory of a car repair shop. On the territory, there are cars parked awaiting repair, painting and other repair works are ongoing, engine parts are washed with oil, there is a specific strong odor around. Also, in the vicinity, in about 80 meters, there is a natural gas fuelling station. 115 The Beam of Hope, “Caritas Georgia”, Eristavi Street No. 2, Tbilisi. NPM Report 61