Ana Barkaia, Nino Chkhaidze & Trevor Stokes James Madison University

1. Increasing Capacity for Qartveli-Georgian Caregivers Supporting Children with Histories of Abuse, Neglect, and Developmental Disabilities Ana Barkaia, Nino Chkhaidze & Trevor Stokes James Madison University

2. Children of Georgia

3. Deinstitutionalization and social inclusion of children with special needs in 2007-2008 • Three months training • Behavior management team • Tbilisi Infant House, Gldani Boarding School and day care centers in Kutaisi

4. Tbilisi Infant House • Five trained specialists in Tbilisi Infant House • Functional, academic and social skills; and behavior challenges • Supervisions from previous CoG staff members trained in ABA

5. Training in social inclusion of children for CoG staff in 2008 • Training by founders of CoG from New Zealand Dr. Barry Parsonson and Dr. JaneMary Castelfranc-Allen • Support of foster family services in Georgia • Interns from Tbilisi State University (including Nino) also involved in this training

6. Cognitive behavior therapy for PTSD in 2008 • In August 2008 there was a war in Georgia • Need for psychological support was very high • Training in cognitive-behavior therapy for PTSD • One year project of CoG, working in PTSD symptoms of war-affected children and their families

7. Early intervention services in 2009 • Trainings for caregivers on developing behavior management systems and individual plans for children in Tbilisi Infant House • CoG staff focused on helping caregivers implement developmental plans for children • Supervision for caregivers

8. Family support services in 2009-2010 • Training for foster families • Preparation for transitions of children • Home visits for families • Developing parenting skills • Supervising foster parent’s interaction with children

9. Individual cases in CoG psychological helping center • Individual casework • Autism cases • Counseling cases

10. Process of Deinstitutionalization • In 2011 process of closing the big institutions started in Georgia • Two types of residential environments were created for children - Small group homes and foster care services

11. Small group homes in 2011-2013 Children of Georgia provided psychological support for children and their families in this process. • The project consisted of two stages: • Preparing children for transition and matching them with families • Providing psychological support for children and for their caregivers

12. Difficulties • Social workers inexperienced in non institutional settings • Undesirable environment for children • Time spent for transition • Environmental demands

13. COG staff at James Madison University • Professor from James Madison University, Dr. Trevor Stokes came to Georgia • Professional developmental trainings and supervision for CoG staff • Learned about JMU graduate programs

14. Connections between COG and JMU • Remote consultations for CoG staff • Develop teleconference mechanisms

15. მოგესალმებით ყველას! • დიდი მადლობა აქ მობრძანებისათვის. • იმედი მაქვს მოგეწონათ პრეზენტაცია საქართველოს შესახებ.