The Smile of the Child: «The government is shutting us down»

In a marathon press conference that lasted over three hours, the “The Smile of the Child”He made a desperate attempt—as his people noted—to be heard by the government and prevent the closure of day care centers and permanent residences, which, according to what they said, is being dictated bythe Ministerial Decision regarding the conditions for the establishment and operation of existing and new MoPP (Child Protection and Care Units) N.P.I.D. issued by Deputy Minister of Labor Domna Michailidou. (Here is the ministry's announcement in detail)

As stated by “The Smile of the Child,” the ministerial decision has rapid and tragic consequences, as according to the articles it contains, the organization's Day Care Centers will be closed as of today, an initiative whose main objective is to avoid institutionalization, while within the year, the Permanent Care Homes and other quality childcare facilities in the country will also be closed, and at the same time, the state welfare system is unprepared and unable to meet the needs.

Specifically, the Agency explains how a distinction is made between public, church, and private structures. “Great emphasis is placed on building infrastructure and no particular reference is made to social integration, as a series of building requirements and staffing of structures with guards are provided for, as if we were talking about prisons.”.

At the press conference, they expressed their strong objections their views on the constitutionality of the ministerial decision, lawyers such as the honorary deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Vasileios Markis, who said that he found it difficult to believe that any court would apply regulations “of this level and superficiality.”.

Meletis Moustakas, Professor of Administrative Law at Panteion University, agreed with him, while Xeni Dimitriou, former prosecutor at the Supreme Court, emphasized that: “What strikes me is that two laws are being initiated by the Ministry of Labor. Law 4837/21 of the same ministry is now being amended by the same leadership. This shows that they probably did not think things through properly before passing the law the first time around. This concerns me greatly.”.

“Special relationships between the minister and certain private institutions, untouchable by the public and the church”

The president of “The Smile of the Child,”, Kostas Giannopoulos, stressed that the new legislative framework issued by the Deputy Minister of Labor, Domna Michailidou, introduces new building conditions that do not cover 11 welfare and care buildings belonging to the Organisation, while impose heavy fines, enables the ministry to abolish the Board of Directors and make arrests with penalties ranging from 1 to 5 years' imprisonment.

Among other things, speaking of sloppiness, he referred to the ministry's extremely problematic work in various areas, pointing out that on the issue of foster care, which has been widely publicized, there have been cases of children being returned from foster families as a result of inadequate research by the services, while he also spoke of money being distributed by the regions as they see fit and according to strange criteria.

In fact, he stressed that the specifications required by the Ministerial Decision to be met by “The Smile of the Child” are not required for state and church structures.

“It is very difficult to deal with the possibility that there may be someone who wants to harm this institution,” said Kostas Giannopoulos. “A certain lady, Deputy Minister Domna Michailidou, comes along and closes down some private ones—because some others have privileged relationships with the deputy minister—and leaves the public and church ones untouched. All this time, we have been making proposals for the homes to be licensed. Now, someone in charge of the deputy minister will come to my door and arrest me because the day care homes do not have a license. Two years ago, she herself told us that the homes would be licensed. The deputy minister presents herself as the goddess of child protection. And we are now in danger of closing down altogether. It's not just the homes. It's the disappearances, the support centers that support 17,000 children and their families, the treatment center, the ambulances for which we were recently awarded by EKA.

“Has any lawyer seen the ministerial decision?”

The honorary deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Vasileios Markis, He wondered how such a hasty decision could have been made: “In 2007, I was assigned by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court to coordinate the implementation of juvenile legislation throughout Greece. I visited several of the homes that were operating at the time to form an opinion.

The result of this experience was that I became an ardent supporter of ‘The Smile of the Child.’ Reading the law, one wonders whether its provisions were drafted by or even have any connection with a lawyer. I would like to point out that nothing in the law can be implemented automatically. I firmly believe that no court can implement provisions of this level and superficiality.

The author of this decision—which was passed without being discussed in any committee—takes a revenue-oriented approach to the issues. In fact, it is envisaged that the fines will boost the state budget. However, what is completely absurd is the provision that gives the Ministry of Labor the authority to replace the Board of Directors and assign responsibilities.

In other words, the state can replace the board of directors of a private association that is not funded by the state and determine its powers and responsibilities. And could this have been drafted by a lawyer? No court could accept the constitutionality of this regulation. I call on the people of Hamogelo to continue their work, which has been recognized by society and not by the bureaucrats of some ministry.

“If there were sincerity, they would start applying them in public structures.”

For her part, the former prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Xeni Dimitriou, said: “If there is one thing I am proud of in my life and will take with me when I leave this life, it is that I served as a juvenile prosecutor for more years than anyone else to date. These laws concern a certain category of structures for children. It is impossible to distinguish between children living in private institutions and children living in public facilities and church institutions. If one were to be honest with oneself, one would have to start with the public structures that one has the power to change. And then, if one wishes, one could compel private structures to follow suit.

Because I know and have visited many facilities in the country, I have to say that we are not proud of our public facilities. Not even in terms of their buildings. We are even less proud of the scientific work that is done in them. Not because we do not have enlightened scientists in our country. But because there are no scientists in these facilities. They are not even staffed.

“Will the state cover the costs?”

Strong objections were also expressed by the civil engineer, Andreas Grammatikos who stressed that what needs to be done is unachievable:

“The most important thing in terms of building regulations is the point that says that existing units must comply with the ministerial decision within a year. What I have to say is that if we take into account all the existing units of The Smile of the Child, the 11 units will all close, or if they manage to adapt, they certainly cannot do so within a year. If someone wants to fix them up according to the provision, what resources will they use to do so? Everyone knows that The Smile of the Child operates on donations. Every time it does something, it struggles to raise money. Will the state cover the costs now? And even if it did, one year is not enough.

Has any of the authors of the decision considered how many square meters are needed to implement what is being dictated? The Joint Ministerial Decision should have stated—as the lawyers said—that buildings that have been inspected and licensed will be able to continue operating.

Children who live or grew up in the homes of “The Smile of the Child” were also present at the press conference.“The words "institutionalization" and "institution" offend us as entities.. The word does not fit with ‘The Smile of the Child’. It offends us. The deputy minister should study the Smile homes. They are a case study and she should learn how they work. She should ask us about our lived experience. She didn't even ask us,” said Andrianna Theochari, now an adult, one of the 1,037 children who grew up in the homes of “The Smile of the Child.”.

In closing, the president of “The Smile of the Child,” Kostas Giannopoulos, will request another meeting with the prime minister. Kyriakos Mitsotakis as soon as he returns from the US, as she has not yet managed to meet him.