Financial Assistance to Organisations of Persons with Disabilities for Hiring Social Assistants for their Members Cyprus : Ministry of Labour Welfare & Social Insurance

Name of the Organization : Ministry of Labour, Welfare & Social Insurance
Type of Facility : Financial Assistance to Organisations of Persons with Disabilities for Hiring Social Assistants for their Members
Country : Cyprus

Official Website : https://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/mlsi.nsf/home-el/home-el?OpenForm

Financial Assistance to Organisations of Persons with Disabilities :

Aim:
1. The Aim of this Scheme is the provision of Social Assistance Services to adults with severe disabilities, whose independent mobility and the exercise of their fundamental rights is not possible and is not covered by other sources, with the risk of social exclusion.

Related : MLSI Disability Parking Card Scheme – Blue Badge Cyprus : www.statusin.org/5693.html

By priority Social Assistants serve persons that experience deafblindness, persons within the autistic spectrum disorder, persons with moderate to severe intellectual disability, blind persons, deaf persons, persons with severe mobility difficulties and persons with severe mental disabilities. The Social Assistance Services are provided as long and to the extent necessary for the social inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Beneficiaries:
2. Beneficiaries of the Scheme are the organizations of persons with severe disabilities who are not in position to represent themselves, and these organizations will implement the program of Social Assistance by using this grant and they will be responsible in coordinating and allocating the duties of the Social Assistant towards persons with disabilities, according to their needs. Priority will be given to the organizations representing persons with disabilities as described in paragraph 1.

Amount Of Grant:
3. The Department for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities provides a grant up to €10.000 yearly, for each Social Assistance programme and provides a maximum of 70% of the salary cost for the Social Assistant. For each programme the organizations will cover through their own sources (a grant of another scheme) the rest of the salary cost which is 30% and any other relevant expenses. The organization can ask from the persons with disabilities to cover a percentage of the transportation expenses of the Social Assistant.

Terms And Conditions:
4. The Social Assistants are not provided on a one to one basis. They are provided to service more than one person with disabilities, depending on the severity of their disability and on their needs. It is noted that if the programme circumstances permit it, persons with severe disabilities that don’t belong to the specific organization can also participate in the programme.

5. Every organization can create more than one programme of Social Assistance.

6. The services of the Social Assistant are presented below:
** Accompanying persons with disabilities in health services, public services, financial services, social sevices, organizations, institutions, centers and other places whicg are considered necessary for the exercise of their rights and for their social inclusion.
** Transport and accompany safely persons with disabilities from and to the above mentioned places.
** Communication with persons with disabilities and help with the oral, written or electronic communication with others.
** Support of persons with disabilities when participating in programmes, social protection services and social inclusion services such as programmes and care services, creativity activities, education, entertainment, sports, art etc.
** Whenever necessary, the protection and support of persons with disabilities during their communication and interaction with others or during the contact with their environment.
** Whenever necessary, the advocacy of persons with disabilities and support during the exercise of their rights.
** Support in empowerment, autonomy and social inclusion of persons with disabilities.

7. The organization recruits a Social Attendant that holds the required qualifications and emplys him / her for the duties presented in the Work Presentation, in Annex A. The employment of a Social Assistant for other duties not mentioned in this Scheme, is forbidden.

8. The organization employs the Social Assistant according to the existing labour law. Ensures the necessary training and allows for further training by the Department or other body, whenever the Department believes necessary.

Additional Terms Of Management:
9. The Department is responsible for the management and supervision of the Scheme and monitors the effectiveness and the quality of the programmes.
10. A representative of the Department takes place in the recruitment procedure of the Social Assistants and ensures their suitability according to the Work Presentation of the Scheme. In the case that for any reason the contract of the Social Assistant ceases, the organization is obligated to inform the Department.
11. Each organization is obligated to submit every three months, or on regular basis as the Department will determine, analytical data for the provided services and the persons with disabilities that are being serviced, according to which the evaluation and partial payment of the grant will be specified. The Department may ask for further data from the Social Assistants and from the persons with disabilities that are serviced. It is noted that the Department may stop the grant payment if it finds that the programme no longer meets the terms and conditions of the Scheme.

Submission And Examination Of Applications:
12. The applications can be submitted to the Department for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, on the specific form which can be found electronically at this address https://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/mlsi.nsf/home-el/home-el?OpenForm.
13. The decision of approval or rejection of the application is received by the Director of the Department for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities or from an authorized officer of the Department.