A 14% increase in adoptions, but also a spectacular 80% increase in foster care was recorded between 2022 and 2023, the Minister for Social Cohesion and Families told Parliament. Sophia Zacharakiswhich spoke of “an encouraging event, due to the systematic work that has been done lately”.

Ms. Zaharaki also announced the filing of a regulation which provides for the granting of post-natal maternity leave to foster mothers as well, answering the relevant topical question of the New Left Member of Parliament, Theanos Fotiou, who pointed out to the relevant minister the need to extend this measure, except for mothers with adopted children, and for foster mothers.

“We have seen the gap and soon I think we will be able to provide a solution to this important pending matter which creates a question of justice between adoptive parents and foster parents, as the leave is not granted to them” noted Mrs. Zaharaki. He added, however, that multiple factors will be taken into account, including the duration of the child’s foster care.

The Minister of Social Cohesion and Family, referring to the issue of adoptions and fostering, after informing that there is an increase in adoptions by 14%, but also a spectacular increase in fostering by 80% between 2022 and 2023, submitted the data according to which, the In 2022, 170 adoptions were carried out, while in 2023, 194 adoptions were carried out and correspondingly in 2022, 52 adoptions were carried out, while in 2023, 94 adoptions were carried out.

“Within a year, there was a significant reduction in the number of guests by 128 people, and today there are 1,265 children in child protection structures,” said Ms. Zaharaki.

Urgent underwriting

Responding to Ms. Fotiou regarding what she mentioned about “frequent complaints” that the electronic system in which those interested in adoption or fostering submit their applications is being circumvented, the responsible minister, after emphasizing that it is a “reliable system that operates in terms of absolute “transparency” and assured that no such complaint was ever brought to the attention of the ministry’s services, invited the MP to officially inform about what she is citing, given their seriousness, so that the matter can be investigated.

However, Ms. Zaharaki mentioned in advance that there are cases of emergency underwriting that the ministry already has in mind and for them there was already a legislative framework from the previous government. In this regard, he informed that in the last two years – with the cooperation of the agencies that handle foster care applications, the social services, the hospitals and especially the prosecutor’s authorities – more than 85 cases of emergency foster care of minors have been implemented, to prospective foster parents, which are all registered in the National Registry and some of them have been completed. On the same issue, the competent minister further added that today there are 68 cases of emergency foster care of minors in force, following a relevant prosecutor’s decision to place the children with prospective foster parents registered in the National Registry, and 52 cases of urgent relative foster care, where the children were placed directly to members of their immediate environment.

“However, all these cases do not involve any irregularity,” said Mrs. Zaharakis.

Finally, Mrs. Zaharaki referred to the upgrading of the information system based on the proposals of the social workers, while once again she raised the issue of the need to increase the number of social workers at all levels, asking for the assistance of the Local Government.