The Department of Social Work in the University of West Attica (UNIVA) of Athens, is one of the four state Higher Education Institutes offering social work training in Greece (the other three are the TEI of Patras, the TEI of Crete and the Democritus University of Thrace). The Department was established in 1985 under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. During the same year, all the former social work schools (the Diaconnisson School, the School of the Children Protection Committee and the Institute of Social Work School) were embodied in the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health and Caring Professions of the TEI of Athens, offering undergraduate training in social work