Children with various types of disabilities, who are entitled to social benefits for the purpose of their social integration, will no longer need, until they reach adulthood, to follow procedures for re-evaluation of their disability by the Department for Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities, following a decision by the Minister of Labor and Social Insurance, Kyriakos Kaussios.
“The criticality of childhood for the treatment and management of disability by the child himself and his family and the need to further strengthen and support their efforts and reduce their suffering, led the Minister of Labor and Social Insurance to this decision”. cites a Ministry announcement on the matter.
The Minister acted on the basis of the decision of the Council of Ministers, dated 14.12.2015, which approved the institutional framework and the operating conditions of the Assessment Committees and the Disability Assessment Centers of the Department of Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities and authorized the Minister to decide the their amendment.
As the announcement states, all children under the age of 18, who after a disability assessment are certified with severe disability or moderate mental disability, with a non-permanent period of validity of the finding, the reassessment it will be made upon their coming of age, i.e. at the age of 18.
It is added that all the beneficiaries will soon be sent a relevant notification with an extension of the decision and no action is needed on their part. It is understood that if the current decision they hold has a validity period after the child reaches adulthood, it will continue to be valid. Re-evaluation before the child turns 18 will only be done if the beneficiaries themselves request a re-evaluation with their new application for social benefits/services or in unforeseen and exceptional cases where the re-evaluation will be deemed necessary by the Department of Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities.< /p>
