Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Greek professionals

As part of the SAFE project, KMOP has developed an SOPs guide for the Greek professionals aiming to present mainly the following:

• • The legal framework on foster care at national, European and international level.

• The Greek legal framework by focusing on the new provisions of the new law on adoption and foster care.
• The implementation of the law on foster care by the relevant actors provided in the law.
• The procedures followed on foster care for unaccompanied children.
• The main challenges regarding the implementation of the law on foster care for unaccompanied children.

The overall goal of the SOPs guide is to inspire relevant professionals and actors to identify synergies and collaborate to successfully implement the existing legal framework on foster care in Greece also to unaccompanied children. The guide aims to further promote the implementation of foster care as an alternative care to the unaccompanied children in Greece. The draft SOPs guide was presented and initially piloted during a two-day workshop in Thessalonki in Greece which took place on the 27-28 September 2018. Professionals from public social services, civil society and international organisations have actively participated by sharing their views and experiences during the workshop. During the workshop, different experts contributed through presentations that addressed the parts that have been elaborated in the guide. Representatives from the Ministry of Labor and legal experts specialised in child protection presented the new foster care framework and the new legal framework. Other experienced social workers from public social services and civil society organisations presented their professional experience through their foster care projects for unaccompanied children by focusing on their experience in recruiting, matching and supervision procedures in collaboration with the public social services.