What We Do

Needs Assessment of Social Services and Human Resource Capacity within the Social Protection System of Uzbekistan

In 2025, the Uzbekistan Collaborative Center at Columbia School of Social Work conducted a qualitative needs assessment of the social services system and human resource capacity within the social protection system administered by the National Agency of Social Protection (NASP). The study was implemented jointly with the Columbia University School of Social Work. Field work was carried out between April and October 2025 across multiple regions, including Andijan, Khorezm, Karakalpakstan, and Tashkent, complemented by online interviews with NASP departments and leadership. In total, 42 focus groups and interviews were conducted with approximately 507 participants, including mahalla social workers, supervisors, psychologists, lawyers, and staff of district-level social service centers (Inson centers), as well as faculty and students from universities across multiple regions and representatives of NGOs. The study examined how social protection reforms are being implemented in everyday practice across the three levels of the system, using IASSW and NASW professional standards as an analytical framework.

The study findings acknowledge the significant achievements of the NASP since its establishment in 2023 in building the foundational architecture of a modern social services system. These include the introduction of over 9,000 mahalla-based social workers as a preventive first tier of community-level services; the creation of Inson Centers as district-level hubs bringing together multidisciplinary teams — social workers, psychologists, and lawyers — to serve diverse target groups; and the development of a third tier of highly specialized residential and rehabilitation services for those in crisis or with the most complex needs. At the same time, the study identifies a structural deficit not only in professional social work education but in evidence-based practice across all levels of the system. The vast majority of specialists — including supervisors — lack formal social work training, which in practice means that case management is reduced to benefit administration, supervision to KPI monitoring, and evidence-based approaches remain largely absent from everyday service delivery. Based on these findings, the study developed strategic recommendations in two directions: a short-term retraining strategy to strengthen existing workforce competencies — including biopsychosocial assessment, trauma-informed care, MHPSS, and professional ethics — and a long-term comprehensive reform of higher education in social work aligned with international EPAS and IASSW standards, including the development of national BSW and MSW programs, an accreditation system, and professional licensing.

Social Work Retraining Program for the Social Service Workforce and Educators

In response to a structural gap identified in the needs assessment — the absence of formal social work education among specialists already working in the field and educators teaching in social work programs — the Uzbekistan Collaborative Center, together with NASP and UNICEF, initiated a 576-hour professional retraining program in social work as a transitional measure to strengthen the professional foundation of the existing workforce. The program was designed through the collaborative work of a team of national trainers and independent experts in social work, faculty from the Department of Social Work at the National University of Uzbekistan, and UCC staff, under the leadership of Lyudmila Kim, LCSW, Program Director of UCC at CSSW. Delivered as intensive live online classes in January–February 2026 across eight back-to-back courses — in Russian and Uzbek— the curriculum covered the foundations of social work, human behavior in the social environment, social work practice at micro, mezzo, and macro levels, child protection, working with children and families, support for survivors of violence, and social work with persons with disabilities. Sessions were practice-oriented, combining mini-lectures, group discussions, case studies, breakout activities, and video-based learning to build both reflective practice and practical skills.

The first cohort brought together about 100 practitioners and educators from across the social protection and higher education systems, representing all 14 regions of Uzbekistan. Participants included staff from the National Agency of Social Protection at national, regional, and district levels — with a particular focus on specialists in child protection and welfare — and faculty from 19 universities offering social work programs, bringing practitioners and educators into the same learning environment to strengthen the connection between social work education and professional practice. Upon completing the program, each participant developed and defended an individual capstone project demonstrating the translation of newly acquired knowledge into their specific area of practice. Ninety-seven participants successfully completed the program and will receive their diplomas in professional retraining in social work at an upcoming graduation ceremony.

WINGS in Uzbekistan

WINGS (Women Initiating New Goals of Safety) is an evidence-based brief intervention designed to strengthen the safety and well-being of women affected by intimate partner violence and other forms of gender-based violence. WINGS was developed by Professor Louisa Gilbert — former Co-Director of the Social Intervention Group (SIG) and the Global Health Research Center for Central Asia (GHRCCA) in Almaty, and currently Special Research Scientist at SIG, Columbia University School of Social Work — in collaboration with survivors, advocates, and community-based service providers. Using the Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) approach, WINGS helps women assess violence-related risks, develop individualized safety plans, strengthen social support, and connect with appropriate social, psychological, medical, and legal services. The intervention has been successfully adapted and implemented in multiple countries, including the United States, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine, with ongoing expansion to Pakistan and the Caribbean.

In Uzbekistan, WINGS was culturally and contextually adapted to the national social protection system and existing mechanisms for responding to gender-based violence. The first cohort of facilitators was trained in January 2026 across four regions — Tashkent, Andijan, Navoi, and Khorezm — and has since received ongoing supervision. The intervention has since expanded to all 14 regions of Uzbekistan, with 130 facilitators trained across three rounds. Facilitators receive guidance materials in Uzbek and Russian and regular supervision to ensure safe and consistent implementation. Since April 2026, WINGS has also been delivered through a digital platform developed in partnership with the Information Center of the National Agency of Social Protection. As of August 2026, more than 200 women have completed the program. Participant and facilitator feedback consistently highlights the critical importance of the intervention in raising awareness about intimate partner and domestic violence and — crucially — in supporting women to seek help and access services, addressing one of the most significant barriers in responding to gender-based violence: the reluctance of women to come forward, which too often carries fatal consequences. The program continues to expand across all NASP programs and services in all 14 regions.

Developing Professional Supervision in Social Work in Uzbekistan

The development of professional supervision is a central element of broader efforts to strengthen social work as a profession in Uzbekistan. In 2026, the Uzbekistan Collaborative Center at Columbia School of Social Work, together with UNICEF and with support from the Fulbright Program, initiated a series of regional seminars on professional supervision and social work education across six cities — Samarkand, Urgench, Tashkent, Karshi, Bukhara, and Andijan. The seminars were developed and led by Richard T. Hara, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for MSSW Education at Columbia University School of Social Work, and Lyudmila Kim, LCSW, Program Director of the UCC at CSSW. The curriculum drew on competency-based social work education frameworks and introduced approaches to supervision that go beyond administrative oversight to encompass professional learning, reflective practice, and practitioner support — areas largely absent from the current supervision model in Uzbekistan.

The seminars brought together 200 participants representing all 14 regions of the country, including practicing supervisors from Inson Centers within the national social protection system and faculty from 15 universities offering social work programs. Participants engaged with practice-oriented approaches to supervision, including case conceptualization and case management within a trauma-informed framework, reflective supervision, strengths-based and interactional supervision models, professional feedback, motivational interviewing, and strategies for addressing compassion fatigue and sustaining professional resilience. Bringing supervisors and university educators together in the same learning space was an intentional design choice — aimed at bridging the gap between academic social work education and everyday professional practice in the field.