Rehabilitation Centre for Juvenile Probationers

The Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance, Dimitri Shashkini, opened a new rehabilitation centre at the Probation Bureau of Tbilisi. It aims at providing legal assistance and supporting re-integration process of the juvenile probationers.  The Centre was opened within the framework of the project “Reform Options for the Penitentiary System and Probation System for Convicted Child Offenders in Georgia”, implemented by the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance and UNICEF with the support of the European Union. The purpose of the project is to improve the penitentiary and probation systems in respect with the juvenile offenders and to create an effective system based on re-integration and re-habilitation schemes that will contribute to the use of alternative sentences for the children in conflict with law. Special rehabilitation programs for the juvenile probationers, in line with international standards, will be activated in the centre. Professional retraining courses and psychological rehabilitation programs will be provided for the juveniles. In cooperation with the family members of probationers, probation staff and social workers will help juveniles in preparing the individual curricula, acquiring educational skills that will assist them to become active members of the society. Similar rehabilitation centers for the juvenile probationers are already functioning in 3 cities – Rustavi, Batumi and Kutaisi. For the full-scale implementation of the program, coordination councils are created, which consist of representatives of the probation bureaus, police, prosecutor's offices, courts, educational resource centers, UNICEF and PRI.