Nicosia: Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Marilena Evangelou, announced on Wednesday that the Council of Ministers approved a new co-financed project, with a funding of 10 million euros, entitled “New Network of Social Integration Services for People with Disabilities”. Evangelou also announced that the Council of Ministers decided to appoint Elena Pericleous as Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the scheme aims to significantly upgrade services for empowering and supporting people with disabilities. This initiative is part of a larger reform effort currently being promoted for people with disabilities. The Deputy Minister highlighted that the Cabinet has decided to introduce and expand a total of eight services, which include decision support consultants, trainers for people with disabilities, personal work assistants, work integration professionals, social aides, Cypriot sign language interpreters, providers of supported living service programmes, and early family support psychologists.
Evangelou further explained that the Cyprus Confederation of Organisations of the Disabled will be responsible for the decision support consultant services across Cyprus. As part of this initiative, 80 consultants will be gradually recruited to support approximately 4,000 adults with disabilities. She emphasized that today’s decision to introduce and expand these services is integral to a broader reform, noting that the disability law is a major aspect of this reform.