Project Operator | Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs |
Project Promoter | Information Society Technologies Single Member SA |
Budget | € 1,984,000 |
What is the object of the project “Disabilities”?
The project entitled “Disabilities” with code 16904 consists of 2 main actions aimed at strengthening the social inclusion, independent living, employment and early childhood intervention for people and children with disabilities. In the context of the first sub-project, an important action is to help people with disabilities in independent living. Independent living is a fundamental right of persons with disabilities and an obligation of the State in accordance with the Constitution of the country and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, with particular emphasis on personal assistance.
What are the goals of the project?
In the context of the sub-project, the pilot implementation of the help of an independent living personal assistant enables each beneficiary to be supported in their routine and find assistance in developing the necessary skills for their daily needs, depending on their functionality, social and personal factors and employment status. By training the target population to live independently by providing appropriate personalized support services, the project aims to:
- improve the functionality of the target population;
- implement an effective deinstitutionalization policy and prevent institutionalization;
- strengthen social inclusion for all beneficiaries, in order to ultimately limit the number of people who will need future welfare support, as well as limit the intensity of that support.
- improve the employability prospects of beneficiaries and the relatives of beneficiaries. Personal assistance creates jobs for others and enables people with disabilities to be active members of society, including working in the open labor market,
- regulate the current market of carers and integrate them into the official economy;
- improve the quality of the services provided, using protocols, training and certifications.
How will the program work?
In the context of the above, Article 36 of Law 4837/2021 describes the first pilot implementation of the service “Personal Assistant for Persons with Disabilities”. In detail and in accordance with the provisions of Articles 36 and 37 of Law 4837/2021, the pilot program will operate as follows:
- The pilot implementation will be put to action in two phases within selected geographical areas of the country. The 1st phase will start in 2022 and the service will have a duration of 2 years, while the second phase will start in 2023 for a period of one year.
- During the pilot implementation of the program, eligible beneficiaries are persons aged 16 to 65 with certified disabilities (motor, mental, developmental or sensory, psychiatric). The beneficiaries of the pilot program shall be selected on the basis of a representative sample among the applicants on the basis of predefined criteria. For this purpose, the following shall be taken into account in particular: type of disability, age group, gender, employment status, area of residence, composition/type of household. For the selection of applicants, special emphasis is placed on social and income criteria.
- The assessment of the need to provide a Personal Assistance for Persons with Disabilities is carried out by special interdisciplinary evaluation committees. These committees shall especially assess, on the basis of the applicants ability for self-care, independence, mobility and cognitive awareness, the need, duration and periodicity of the provision of Personal Assistance, taking into account their individual needs and living conditions.
- The disabled person to whom the Personal Assistance service is provided may receive the service either directly or through a third party provider.
- After the completion of the pilot program, the General Secretariat for Social Solidarity and Fight Against Poverty shall submit, in the form of an evaluation report of the results, aggregated data, recorded problems, extracted conclusions and recommendations from the implementation of the pilot program to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, for their evaluation in view of the universal implementation of the Personal Assistance service for Persons with Disabilities across the country.
- An electronic Digital Register of Personal Assistants is established, which is kept at the General Secretariat for Social Solidarity and Fight Against Poverty.
- The Organization for Welfare Benefits and Social Solidarity (OPEKA) has established and operates an information system for the management of requests to receive the service “Personal Assistance for Persons with Disabilities”, as well as applications from interested parties to join the Digital Register of Personal Assistants mentioned in the previous paragraph. This information system, which includes the electronic Register of Providers of the Personal Assistance Service mentioned in the previous paragraph, is interconnected with other information systems of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the public sector, in accordance with Article 84 of Law 4727/2020 (Α’ 184). The data controller of the information system shall be the OPEKA.
How is the project funded?
The action is implemented within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0” with the funding of the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Relevant records
Call for expressions of interest for applications from Persons with Disabilities