The Social Welfare Center in the Central of Greece Region at the Ministry of Labor, Social Insurance & Social Solidarity is one of the leading regional social structures taking the initiative to re-open conversation on the investment and need of alternative children protection based on the promotion of foster care, adoption, and deinstitutionalization in child welfare.
On November 20, 2017, a coalition of specialized and distinguished professionals from the European Region, such as Jane Snaith, CEO Family for Each Child (Igale Lapsele Pere) from Estonia, Marina Hoblaj and Alisa Fistrek, Forum for Quality Raising of foster children (Forum za kvalitetno udomiteljstvo djece – udomitelji za djecu) from Croatia, Mary Theodoropoulou and Tatiana Gorney, “Roots” Research Center (NGO) from Greece, “Eurochild” participated in the “Opening doors for Europe’s children” campaign. This brain trust of professionals and specialists shared their lived experience and knowledge in this crucial field in order to engage and stimulate public concern for alternative child protection.
Additionally, they discussed some of the best practices being used abroad to encourage other professionals, social workers, social care workers, etc. to adopt them and incorporate into their practice in order to start shaping a different approach, mentality and organizational culture for those making and implementing policies on the day to day life of children. On the grounds of the current and abundantly quite rigid national legal framework, reformation is needed to define the comprehensive disadvantages of the foster care and adoption process in addition to addressing the shortage of multidimensional help that has plagued the profession for all these years.
In the context of exchanging views on the necessity of a more extroverted social perception establishment in the Greek territory, a special workshop was held for all those interested in better vocational training. Professionals working with children need support in their professional lives in order to fulfill their day to day work to secure, defend, and emphasize on fundamental children and youth rights.
Not only had they already implemented to intensify already fruitful and constructive endeavors towards deinstitutionalization and family care under the current circumstances, they still keep to facilitate and invite public concern to establish rapport on a crucial issue in question akin to a modern and fair pretention.
Social Welfare Center of Central Greece Region is a public legal entity akin to the managerial mechanism of three social structures which encompasses the Department of Child Protection of Fthiotida, Department of People with Disabilities of Fthiotida, Department of People with Disabilities of Evoia. This social welfare entity is the state’s main bracket in the above-mentioned territory.
