The creation of a therapeutic home for children in state care with more serious mental health needs is under discussion, Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Tina Pavlou said on Monday. The facility would provide intensive, round-the-clock treatment for limited periods.

Pavlou said she had already discussed the proposal with the Health Minister and would meet the Education Minister next week.

Speaking after a meeting of the House Human Rights Committee, Pavlou said around 400 children are currently in state care. Of these, 97 live in residential facilities, while the vast majority are with foster families, in line with the system’s objectives.

She said authorities had identified a “major gap” affecting a subgroup of children who require more intensive mental health services. Discussions have included the possibility of establishing a short-stay therapeutic home where children could receive treatment on a 24-hour basis.

The Deputy Minister stressed that the issue could not be addressed by a single ministry or service, as the needs of children in state care have become increasingly complex and their vulnerability has grown.

“No Deputy Ministry, ministry or service can support these children on its own,” she said, emphasising the need for close cooperation between the relevant authorities.

Trauma and gaps in mental health support

Pavlou placed particular emphasis on prevention and the provision of systematic psychological support for children living in residential care.

She said these children had already experienced trauma within their families, while their removal from the family environment was itself traumatic.

“If they are not given greater support, the problems they face will only worsen,” she said.

Mental health support is currently available, she added, but not “on the systematic basis we would like”. A child’s visit to a psychologist cannot, on its own, meet the needs of those facing complex and serious difficulties.

The aim is to support children from an early age while also addressing the difficulties experienced by adolescents in care, including extreme cases, to ensure their rights are protected.

“All of us adults within the system are responsible for these children. It is our responsibility, not only that of the Social Welfare Services. It is the responsibility of us all,” Pavlou said.

Absconding reflects deeper problems

Asked about children leaving residential facilities without permission, Pavlou said the circumstances surrounding each child were examined individually. She stressed that such incidents were not necessarily linked to the conduct of staff or failings within the system.

Drawing on her personal experience, she said children had also left addiction treatment centres without permission, adding that “the reasons are deeper”.

Every report is investigated thoroughly, she said, while children involved in such incidents must receive the treatment they need.

During the meeting, Social Welfare Services Director Maria Kyratzi said more than 65% of children in state care live with foster families, 11% are enrolled in independent living programmes and 24% live in residential facilities.

These facilities include children’s homes for those aged between five and 13, as well as homes for adolescents.

Kyratzi said 38 children were recorded as having absconded in 2021. That number had fallen to five by the end of 2025, largely because of improved coordination between services, particularly in adolescent homes.

Cases raised before the committee

The committee’s discussion followed several incidents that prompted concerns about the protection of children in state care.

Committee Chair and AKEL MP Christos Christofides referred to audiovisual material from December 2025 showing a child outside a residential facility crying, asking for their mother and pleading to be allowed inside. A member of the public contacted the police, while the Social Welfare Services initially said they were unaware of the incident.

Christofides also raised the case of three sisters, aged 14, 15 and 17, who left a children’s home on June 30, 2026. The three were prosecution witnesses in a serious case involving alleged long-term abuse within their family environment.

He stressed that children’s homes could not be turned into prisons but required effective protocols for prevention, early intervention and protection, particularly for high-risk children.

Concerns over education and substance use

The meeting also highlighted the need to prevent children from being excluded from education.

Pavlou said the number of children receiving home education had fallen significantly over the past three years, mainly because of the operation of a day centre and the purchase of relevant services.

However, children displaying delinquent behaviour, whether in state care or not, must be supported to prevent them from dropping out of education, she said.

“The ultimate objective whenever we have an alternative system is their reintegration into mainstream school,” Pavlou said, adding that, in her experience, reintegration takes place “very normally and very effectively”.

Addressing substance use, Pavlou said that of the 17 adolescents who received services at the Agia Skepi treatment centre in 2025, six were children in state care receiving help because of substance use.

Almost all were out of school and were subsequently placed in home education. None refused to participate, she said, and they made an effort with their studies.

The Deputy Minister said the system had failed these children by allowing them to fall outside the education system.

Need for prevention and coordination

Kyratzi said children must be free from substances before being admitted to Agia Skepi. This creates a gap for those who first require detoxification and then treatment, as no dedicated facility currently exists for them.

Commissioner for Children’s Rights Elena Pericleous called on the state to move from crisis management to prevention. She said every child under state protection should have an organised support plan and that the responsible ministries should follow a unified protocol.

The state removes children from their families to protect them and cannot subsequently fail to safeguard them within its own facilities, she said.

Representatives of the Education Ministry said available measures included support plans, home and special education, alternative education through SEFE and the purchase of specialist mental health services through the DRASE programme.

A school social worker programme has also been introduced this year.

Timetable for proposed measures

Pavlou said there should be no delay in addressing the problems.

Asked when the proposals under discussion could be implemented, she said that if no legislation was required, “we could move forward with many of the measures through which we want to provide solutions within the next six months”.

If legislation is needed, the objective is to deliver results within the next 12 to 18 months.

“Every day and every year that passes is at the expense of these children,” she said.

MPs highlight shortcomings in state care

AKEL MP Anastasia Hasikou described the issue as highly serious and sensitive. Once a child is removed from their family, she said, the state assumes greater responsibility for their welfare.

Providing shelter and food is not enough, she added. Children must be guaranteed a safe environment with meaningful, independent oversight and adequate monitoring mechanisms.

Hasikou recalled that significant shortcomings had already been documented in 2022 and questioned what had changed since then, particularly in light of recent complaints and testimony from adults who had previously lived in child protection facilities.

She said the committee discussion showed that the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare was aware of and acknowledged several gaps, while assurances had been given that mental health services would improve.

However, she expressed concern that purchasing services from external providers could make coordination between the responsible authorities more difficult. She also noted the importance of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights’ commitment to revisit the matter.

“It is not enough to say that a system exists. We must be able to say that the system works, is monitored and genuinely protects the child,” Hasikou said.

ALMA-Citizens for Cyprus MP Litsa Drousiotou said the discussion had revealed “major gaps” both in the coordination of state services and in the availability of intermediate facilities for children facing serious problems.

When a child is found to be using substances, she said, no suitable intermediate facility currently exists. The child may therefore be taken either to a children’s home, creating difficulties for other children there, or to Agia Skepi, where their condition due to substance use can cause similar problems.

Drousiotou stressed that the state must establish the necessary facilities and that the Health and Education ministries must assume their respective share of responsibility.

She also called for better coordination between state services to safeguard children’s welfare and education and support their reintegration into society by strengthening their confidence.

Source: CNA

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