From Personal Assistant to Early Intervention: Changes for People with Disabilities and Children with Developmental Needs in Greece Announced After Consultation

Greece is moving forward with significant legislative changes aimed at improving support for individuals with disabilities and children with developmental needs. The Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family has concluded a public electronic consultation on a bill that establishes a permanent, nationwide "Personal Assistant for People with Disabilities" program and strengthens "Early Childhood Intervention" services.

The "Personal Assistant" program is now clearly defined as a permanent, national service. A key update from the consultation is the increase of the maximum eligibility age from 65 to 67, with a provision to include beneficiaries up to 75 years old under existing special conditions. Crucially, participation in the program will not affect recipients' pensions, pension supplements, or other disability benefits from public sector entities. The service's framework is now explicitly user-controlled, emphasizing autonomy for individuals with disabilities.

Further enhancements to the personal assistant program include the addition of speech therapists to the Special Assessment Committees. This move aims to create a more interdisciplinary approach, ensuring a more comprehensive evaluation of support needs for beneficiaries. The ministry highlighted that these changes were driven by feedback from citizens, organizations, scientists, and professionals, making the regulations more functional and beneficial.

In the realm of early childhood intervention, the bill incorporates proposals to boost the quality, scientific adequacy, and continuity of services. The training and supervision of professionals and service providers will be enhanced. The interdisciplinary team composition has also been improved with the inclusion of additional specialized scientific expertise to better address the needs of specific beneficiary groups, such as deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

Minister of Social Cohesion and Family, Domna Michailidou, emphasized the government's responsiveness to public input. "We listened to citizens, organizations, scientists, and professionals and incorporated proposals that make the bill clearer and more functional in its application," she stated. She detailed the improvements to the personal assistant service, including its permanent nature, user control, expanded access, and safeguarded benefits, as well as the enhancements to early intervention services. Michailidou concluded, "With a plan, rules, and dialogue, we are building policies that respond to the needs of people with disabilities, children, and their families."

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We listened to citizens, organizations, scientists, and professionals and incorporated proposals that make the bill clearer and more functional in its application. In the Personal Assistant, we captured with greater accuracy the permanent nature and national scope of the service, strengthened the role of the user, expanded access, ensured that participation in the Program does not affect beneficiaries' benefits, and strengthened the composition of the Special Assessment Committees. In Early Childhood Intervention, we strengthened the quality, supervision, and continuity of services for children and their families. The comments submitted to the consultation led to specific changes in the bill. With a plan, rules, and dialogue, we are building policies that respond to the needs of people with disabilities, children, and their families.