On May 8, 2026, the Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, visited day centers of the Georgian Mental Health Association and the Parents' Support NNLE in Tbilisi.

The Public Defender inspected the physical environment of the day centers, spoke with managers and employees, met with beneficiaries, discussed the challenges relating to the promotion of independent living for persons with disabilities, and focused on the importance of education and employment for the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in public life.

Currently, 15 beneficiaries receive services at the day center of Parents' Support. The head of the organization introduced the Public Defender to the specifics of the day center's work, programme, and services offered. He also spoke about the challenges that the center faces in the case of adult persons with disabilities. The insufficient amount of voucher funding for the service and the shortage of necessary staff were named as a particular problem. As a result, adult persons with disabilities who need complex care and behavior management often remain outside the services of the day center. In addition, despite the steps taken towards professional development, employment of persons with disabilities is still rare, which is one of the main prerequisites for ensuring their independent life.

The day center of the Georgian Mental Health Association currently provides psychosocial rehabilitation services to 36 persons with mental health problems. The main challenge is related to the amount of voucher funding for the service, which cannot ensure the employment of all necessary specialists and the attraction of qualified staff, and therefore has a negative impact on the quality of the service. The existing funding cannot provide the beneficiaries with the opportunity to carry out external activities, including excursions or various cultural or sports events, at the appropriate frequency, which is an important component of socialization. Stable employment of beneficiaries at the subsequent stage of their preparation for independent living is a problem. In addition to the ineffectiveness of state programmes, the lack of appropriate readiness in the labour market was also cited as the reason for this.

It is noteworthy that despite the shortage of psychosocial rehabilitation services in the country, the limit of the day center is not fully filled. This is related to the problem of both information dissemination and referral to the service, as well as the low awareness of mental health in society. The visit once again demonstrates the need to strengthen and improve the quality of mental health rehabilitation services, which the Public Defender constantly emphasizes.

The Public Defender of Georgia continues to work to expand and improve the quality of targeted rehabilitation programmes that promote independent living of persons with disabilities, and periodically conducts on-site assessments of the challenges in similar services.