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Children in Migration
Survey
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Identification
1. Name of the project/practice
Direct and Holistic Medical and Psychosocial Intervention for Refugee and Migrant Children in Danger in Greece
2. Name of submitting person/organisation/practitioner
The Smile of the Child
3. Role of the submitting person/organisation/practitioner in the good practice
Project coordinator
4. Type of organisations implementing the practice
Academia/University
National authority
Regional authority
Local authority
Non-governmental organisation
International organisation
Private organisation
Private person
Other type of organisation
4.1. Please specify type of organisation if different than the options above
5. Description of the lead organisation
The Smile of the Child (TSoC) is the largest internationally recognized non-profit NGO in Greece in the critical field of child protection, support of children and families with children in need, as well as free public health service for children, both in prevention and treatment. Over 23 years of action (established in 1996) TSoC has made the difference for more than 1.480.000 children and their families in Greece. The 502 personnel (social workers, psychologists, rescuers etc) and 3.466 active volunteers create a substantial impact, earning TSoC both nationwide and international recognition that is reflected in a series of MoUs with national authorities/institutions and active -even leading- positions in international fora. The operational commitment of TSoC is structured along the pillars of Intervention, Prevention & Therapy for children victims of any form of violence, with serious health problems, living in/threatened by poverty & missing children. TSoC operates services across Greece that are coordinated by 13 Centers for Direct Social Intervention (CDSI), namely Coordination & Operation Centers for immediate and cross-sectoral activation and mobilization of all services in order to assist a child in danger/crisis.
6. Name and description of partner organisations
The project did not include partner organizations but TSoC implemented the project in close and continuous cooperation with ECHO and the national authorities (e.g. EKKA, Prosecutors for Minors, Ministry of Migration Policy, Municipalities, Police), UNHCR, IOM and other NGOs, the pediatric hospitals, and the organizations that have the overall oversight of the beneficiaries. TSoC has a longstanding collaboration with national and local authorities via the signed MoUs that TSoC has with numerous national, regional or local authorities (e.g. Ministry of Health, EKAV, Ministry of Citizen’s Protection, Ministry of Interior, Prefecture of Attica, Municipality of Thessaloniki, Ministry of Shipping & Island Policy) and UNHCR. The Smile of the Child runs its operation independently but in cooperation with institutional actors. Yet in doing so, it systematically tries to enhance and support institutional stakeholders [Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence, Police, Coast Guard, Fire Brigade, EKAV (National Center of Direct Assistance), KEELPNO (Hellenic Center for Disease Control & Prevention), Public Hospitals & Health Centers, Prefectures etc.], for the sake of effective service to the community. The Smile of the Child works closely with the Police, General Attorney's Office for Minors & First Instance Courts & the media. It also works closely with law enforcement & other national/international bodies in the field of child protection & children's rights.
Scope and activities
7. Type of activity
Capacity-building and training of duty-bearers (national, regional, local authorities, others involved in delivery of services) to respect rights
Services delivered directly to children (including on access to their rights) (e.g. child-sensitive information, support services, clinics (mobile or other), reception, transnational cooperation, etc.
Promoting rights-based responses and actions (e.g. advocacy, working with communities, implementing standards)
Community engagement (e.g. local volunteers or outreach, inclusion, neighborhood initiatives)
Other type of activity
7.1. Please describe other type of activity (if the type of activity is not listed above)
8. Sector
Immediate protection needs on arrival / humanitarian relief (e.g. individual needs assessment)
Identification and registration (e.g. child-friendly biometric enrollment, measures to prevent and to respond to unaccompanied children going missing, age assessment procedures)
Reception: accommodation (e.g. reception related measures to promote and respond to children going missing, foster care, semi-independent living, housing for families, different forms of alternative care for unaccompanied children)
Reception: access to services (educational support, access to health care, assistance to newborns or toddlers, psychosocial support, leisure, integration-related measures)
Access to status determination procedures/procedural safeguards (guardianship services, multidisciplinary age assessment, family reunification/unity, family-tracing, prioritisation of children’s status determination procedures (urgency principle), legal assistance, child-sensitive information)
Prevention of deprivation of liberty (General Comment No 23 UNCRC) / non-custodial solutions
Durable solutions (best interests determination, integration, return, resettlement or reunification with family in a third country)
Other sector
8.1. Please describe other sector (if the sector is not listed above)
9. Target group of children in migration
All children
Unaccompanied or separated children
Children in families
Children with disabilities
LGBTQI children
Children seeking international protection
Teenagers close to adulthood
Child victims of trafficking
Child victims of violence
Child victims of sexual violence
Other target group of children in migration
9.1. Other target group of children in migration (if the target group is not listed above)
10. Specific target of the practice
Boys
Girls
All children
11. Target group based on age
0-18 years
0-3 years
4-6 years
7-12 years
13-18 years
Other age group
11.1. Please specify the age group
12. Keywords to describe the good practice
Age assessment
Capacity-building
Child-sensitive information
Children with families
Data collection
Dublin
Education
Non-custodial solutions
Family reunification
Family-tracing
Foster care
Guardian
Guardianship
Healthcare
Humanitarian relief
Identification
Integration
Leisure
Local community
Psychosocial support
Reception
Semi-independent living
Sport
Training
Trauma-informed practice
Unaccompanied children
13. Time frame
13.1. Start date of activity
Date
13.2. End date of activity
Date
14. Geographical scope
EU
Albania
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Kosovo
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
14.1. Other geographical scope
15. Region, municipality or locality concerned
The teams were based in Attica region and Northern Greece region but were able to provide assistance nationwide (via mobilization of own resources and deployment of our permanent staff nationwide).
16. General description of activities
The action achieved via identification, intervention, treatment and protection of cases of a) chronically ill refugee/migrant children and b) abused refugee/migrant children or at risk of violence/trafficking/smuggling to contribute to protection of minors, improvement of their quality of life, support their trauma healing process and facilitate their access to individualized and high quality services. Main activities included: - Provision of health care to refugee/migrant children (including pregnant or lactating women) with severe/chronic illnesses in Attica and Thessaloniki - Prevention and response to refugee/migrant children in danger 1. Health Sector. In the two larger regions of Greece (Attica & Northern Greece), where pediatric hospitals are located, on the basis of contacts between TSoC and the 3 large public pediatric hospitals in Athens and Thessaloniki, it is estimated that more than 400 households with children suffering from chronic/severe diseases 2. Protection. Both girls and boys are exposed to risks and have often suffered from extreme forms of violence, exploitation, trafficking, physical, psychological and/or sexual abuse, before and/or after their arrival on EU territory; a large percent of refugee/migrant children have limited access to information and specialized psychosocial services and immediate access to assistance.
17. Objectives of the activities
The principal objective was to respond and mitigate the psychosocial and medical emergencies of refugee/migrant children in Greece a) suffering violence or being at risk of violence, trafficking, smuggling and exploitation, b) facing chronic/severe illnesses. The action was expected via identification, intervention, treatment and protection of cases of a) chronically ill refugee/migrant children and b) abused refugee/migrant children or of children at risk of violence/trafficking/smuggling to contribute to protection of minors, improvement of their quality of life, support their trauma healing process and facilitate their access to individualized and high quality services. Main activities included: ● Support refugee/migrant infants and children with increased medical needs accommodated in apartments in Athens and Thessaloniki ● Prevention and response services to violence against refugee/migrant children via responding to calls The Smile of the Child used a holistic and child-oriented approach that included a full range of services and mobilized its longstanding expertise, its structures and centers of immediate intervention all over the country.
18. Results
More specifically the project, which was carried out from April 2018 until the 15th of March 2019, provided: ● Support to 233 refugee/migrant infants and children with increased medical needs accommodated in apartments in Athens and Thessaloniki (e.g. provide paediatric home treatment, medical and nursing care, physiotherapy, psychosocial support and counselling, assistance in medical consultations and diagnostic examinations, training of parents on how to handle the medical issues of their children, transfers from/to hospitals). ● Prevention and response services to violence against refugee/migrant children via responding to more than 460 calls (24 hours a day/7 days a week, free of charge) and telephone counselling and direct intervention in the field to 692 minors victims of violence, smuggling, trafficking and missing unaccompanied minors in collaboration with the competent national authorities. The project was implemented by specialized teams (pediatricians, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers, cultural mediators and interpreters) in Athens and Thessaloniki, in close and continuous cooperation with the authorities, the pediatric hospitals, and the Organizations that have the overall oversight of the beneficiaries.
19. Challenges
There were some common challenges that staff managed such as the complicity of procedures with public services or the gravity of health status of some children, but all challenges faced were handled due to the expertise and know-how of the staff and the longstanding experience of the organization in these areas of intervention - Lack of clear responsibility and action from the stakeholders and actors involved in the care and protection of unaccompanied children. - Lack of immediate mobilization from the authorities due to wrong assessment of the circumstances and motivations of the disappearance mainly for unaccompanied missing minors. - Lack of certified and well-trained professionals in the field to deal with the cases of violence or missing refugee children. - The lack of proper shelter areas and child protection facilities of good quality and care for these children increase the risk of repeated runaways. - Low and almost inexistent reporting on the cases of missing refugee children due to a lack of awareness, knowledge and responsibility on who does what. - Lack of intermediary facilities in Greece for children that are removed from a harmful environment; the only setting that they can be placed is the hospital.
20. Lessons learned
From our point of view, our conclusions are: 1. such a demanding project could not be successful if the organization did not have the necessary experience in this field and longstanding cooperation with public organizations and other NGOs 2. key success factor was also the good coordination and collaboration with other actors that made the referrals and the collaboration with the authorities 3. the project covered a great gap in terms of provision of physiotherapy, something that is in general a gap in the country 4. such a project needs 24 hours availability in order to be able to intervene in cases of emergency and crisis and the organization was able to provide this service 5. the training of parents on how to handle the medical issue of the child was considered as very crucial and contributed significantly to their autonomy 6. the holistic, child-oriented and community-based approach of The Smile of the Child was crucial for the success of the project 7. the full deployment of TSoC's resources and interconnection and complementarity with other services of the organization (e.g. deployment of the organization's Mobile Medical Units / ambulances, volunteers, support centers) without charging costs to the project was an added value for the project 8. the specialized staff, the advanced training of new recruited staff, the supervision of the team by senior staff of the organization 9. investigation and obtainment of donations for expensive medical consumables
Additional Information
21. Funding
Funded by national authorities
Funded by the organisation in charge of the implementation
Funded by regional authorities
Funded by local authorities
Funded by private donor or charity
Other funding
21.1. Please specify other funding:
DG HOME
22. Funded by EU Programme
- None -
Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF)
Development Cooperation Instrument
Emergency Assistance Scheme under the AMIF/ISF (EMAS)
Emergency Support Instrument (ESI)
Erasmus+
EU Compact with Jordan
EU Compact with Lebanon
EU Health Programme
EU Humanitarian Assistance
EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis
EU Trust Fund for Africa
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
European Social Fund (ESF)
Facility for Refugees in Turkey
Fund for Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD)
Horizon 2020
Internal Security Fund (ISF)
Mobility Partnership Facility
Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme
23. Approximate costs per year
8000,00
24. Currency
EUR - Euro
RON - Romanian Leu
SEK - Swedish Kroner
PLN - Polish Zloty
NOK - Norwegian Kroner
HUF - Hungarian Forint
ISK - Icelandic Kroner
LTL - Lithuanian Litas
DKK - Danish Kroner
CZK - Czech Crown
BGN - Bulgarian Lev
GBP - British Pound
HRK - Croatian Kuna
25. Costs per objective or per work package
If possible specify the costs per objective or per work package. Health: 398000 Protection: 250000
26. Other relevant information on budget and costs
-
27. Formal evaluation
28. Child safeguarding policy
The 12 April 2017 Communication on the Protection of Children in Migration prescribes that organisations in contact with children shall have in place internal child protection/safeguarding policies. TSoC has a Child Protection Policy that is applicable to organisation’s staff and volunteers and abiding to national and internal regulations is overseen by supervising/coordinating staff of the organisation. The applicant, apart from the child protection policy, employment policy, internal regulations for all departments and codes of conduct (one for employees and one for volunteers, one for suppliers/contractors), has also the ethics, anti-fraud and anti-corruption policy that depicts its entire zero tolerance policy, whistle blow procedure etc and the organization has DPO officer. This series of policies and regulations address issues of consent (child and legal guardians); data protection; guidelines for staff; prohibition of child abuse and inappropriate conduct; obligation to report inappropriate conduct and any form of child abuse and maltreatment; evidence of clear criminal record of all staff working with children, personnel vetting policy and verification of criminal records.
29. Child safeguarding policy link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MnXt9WsLRaw0Oij24XpZayco18DA7O26/view?usp=sharing
30. Child safeguarding policy document
31. Link to good practice / organisations' website
https://www.hamogelo.gr/gr/en/collaborations/amesi-kai-olistiki-psichokoinoniki-kai-iatriki-paremvasi-gia-paidia-prosfiges-kai-metanastes-se-kindino-stin-ellada/
32. Relevant documents for good practice/organisation
33. Is there any extra information you want to provide not already covered in the replies to the questions above?
TSoC managed to offer holistic and substantial support to children in need 24 hours a day, and managed to bring a Smile to the face of refugee and migrant children and their families and to improve their quality of life. Children that were remaining at the hospital due to the fact that there is no peadiatric home care, we managed, always in close cooperation with the doctors of the pediatric hospital, to enable their transfer at home, to provide medical and nursing care and training to the parents on handling the medical equipment, intervening in small crisis and recognizing life threatening events/calling for help. The project covered a significant gap related to the pediatric home care treatment of cases of minors with severe medical issues. Regular participation in the working groups, bilateral meetings and other efforts indicated that synergies among inter-sectoral services within the project were promoted. Beneficiaries were involved in the project design, implementation and evaluation stages. Positive impact of the project was observed within project's life. No negative impact was identified. The project had a very positive impact to the beneficiaries. The overall ratings were very high and the beneficiaries were highly satisfied with the services provided by TSoC. Overall, the Project was totally useful for the beneficiaries and they met to greater extent their expectations.
Contact Information
34. You can add up to five contacts
1
2
3
4
5
34.1.1. Name
Lily Koumania
34.1.2. Phone
+302103606050
34.1.3. Email
Internationaldept@hamogelo.gr
34.2.1. Name
Konstantinos Yannopoulos
34.2.2. Phone
+30 2107609550
34.2.3. Email
CostasYannopoulos@hamogelo.gr
34.3.1. Name
34.3.2. Phone
34.3.3. Email
34.4.1. Name
34.4.2. Phone
34.4.3. Email
34.5.1. Name
34.5.2. Phone
34.5.3. Email
The Smile of the Child
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