The Commissioner for Children’s Rights Protection, Despo Michaelidou, has documented violations of disabled children’s rights in a report exposing the withholding of retroactive benefits from the minimum guaranteed income scheme.
The Welfare Benefits Management Service delayed examining applications excessively, in some cases up to 18 months, whilst demanding additional documentation not provided for in legislation, according to the commissioner’s findings. Disabled children were consequently deprived of substantial amounts constituting necessary support for treatments and basic needs.
Six children with disabilities were directly affected by the administrative failures, the report states.
Welfare service delays applications up to 18 months
Michaelidou described “inhuman consequences” of these practices, emphasising that many families were forced to cover treatment costs themselves during a period when nearly half of families with disabled members live below the poverty line.
Despite government announcements that applications are examined within 60 days from 2024, problems persist for applications submitted between 2022 and late 2023. The welfare service refuses to acknowledge responsibility and pay retroactive amounts, “placing blame on families,” according to the commissioner.
The non-payment of retroactive benefits violates principles of good administration and international conventions, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the report states.
Government orders immediate review of six cases
The Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare announced it has issued instructions for the Welfare Benefits Management Service to immediately re-examine these cases following the commissioner’s report.
It said that application completion procedures for disabled children have been revised and restructured since early 2025, now fully aligned with the commissioner’s report recommendations, according to the ministry statement.
The deputy ministry noted it achieved a reduction of average application examination time to 90 days initially, then to 60 days from January 2025 as part of procedural improvements.
The report has been transmitted to the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, parliamentary committees on Labour and Human Rights, and the Ombudsman’s office.