Abstract for presentation at Global Social Work 2004

Georgia, a former republic of USSR, is a small country located in Eastern Europe. Transition from Soviet regime to national independence has been especially painful for the country. Civil and ethnic wars, political unrest, and economical crisis resulted in an increase of emerging social problems and groups of vulnerable populations. Nonetheless, relevant services aiming at providing substantial help to vulnerable groups simply do not exist or are not of sufficient scope.
The wide variety of social problems in Georgia and the lack of structures, organizations, and institutions working on addressing those needs create an obvious necessity for the existence of professional social workers to be equipped with skills to help individuals, groups, and communities enhance their social functioning. The Georgian legislation, however, has not yet properly defined the status of a social worker and, neither the local education system provides formal training in Social Work.
During last years, small numbers of local social workers have been trained mostly by international humanitarian organizations. More and more organizations are becoming interested in pursuing social work direction and hiring social workers. Since 2000, through Open Society Institute Social Work Fellowship Program, each year 2 Georgian fellows are being sent to the US to complete master’s degree program. To date, a couple of social work courses have been thought at the country’s main University and trainings in social work have been provided by local experts.
In order to make true steps towards introduction of a new and highly needed profession, comprehensive, formal, and inclusive training programs have to be offered to trainees. Nevertheless, low budget, scarce resources and lack of expertise along with the poor infrastructure hinder the development of a new field. Support from international social work society seems to be essential for achieving successful development of social work in Georgia.