ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER OF GEORGIA 2013 The monitoring revealed a trend that many educators use restriction of access to a computer as a “method” of punishment. For example, at a small family-type children’s home run by the Caritas Georgia Charity Foundation, the children were banned from using the computer for one and a half month. At the children’s home entitled “The way of future”, the children reported that they were not allowed to use the computers because “only adults can work on a computer”. At the children’s home in Akhmeta, they have completely banned using computers because, according to the foster father’s explanation, it was “harmful”. Our monitoring also revealed that not all of the children’s homes have Internet connection – something directly related to the educational needs of the beneficiaries. Only the children’s homes run by the Association “SOS Children’s Villages Georgia” and the “My Home” Charity Foundation have libraries suitable for the beneficiaries age requirements and interests. Recommendations: To the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Protection QQ To actually fulfill its obligation in regard to planning and implementing games and events as well as to create physical conditions necessary for rest and recreation (toys, books) and to involve all of the children’s homes’ beneficiaries in informal education; QQ In determining locations for small family-type children’s home, to take into account the needs of the beneficiaries and the resources available in the local community; QQ To train the staff of small family-type children’s homes in drafting individual learning plans for beneficiaries with special educational needs and in seeing to implementation of these plans; QQ To ensure that the service providers and the educational institutions cooperate with each other in identifying the beneficiaries educational needs; QQ To provide the beneficiaries with the opportunity to attend more trainings in the subjects as necessary, making sure that the trainings are systemically organized and are qualified; to help raise the beneficiaries’ motivation; QQ To raise the beneficiaries’ and the educators’ awareness of the rights of the child and the mechanisms for the protection of these rights. To the Government of Georgia QQ To elaborate State-supported mechanisms to help juveniles who have left the State care system with getting employed as well as to assist them financially until they reach full independence; to educate the beneficiaries about planning their future and choosing their occupation. RECORD KEEPING QQ Article 3(3) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform to the standards established by competent authorities. The Childcare Standards determine a list of documents, which must be produced and maintained by the service providers and must be made available by them to any interested person.138 As a result of the monitoring conducted at small family-type children’s homes, we detected the following problems related to record keeping: Pursuant to the Childcare Standards, a small family-type children’s home must have an upbringing/educational 138 Article 1, Techncial Regulations approved by the Resolution of the Government of Georgia No. 66 dated 15 January 2014 approving the Childcare Standard. NPM Report 70