1/6/2020

Press Release

The Hellenic Branch of the International Social Service (ISS) has recently started the conduction of an important research in the field of the intercountry adoptions in Greece, attempting to explore a field that up to this day remains essentially uncharted.

The research, which is a part of the «Practices and perspectives in the intercountry adoptions» project, is realized within the framework of the Active citizens fund program and it is implemented by the International Social Service-Hellenic Branch. Its main goal is to investigate thoroughly the practices and the obstacles in the actualization of the intercountry adoptions that are conducted in Greece, covering the years of 2011-2019.

The research will be conducted with the use of questionnaires that will be addressed, on one hand, towards the parents that have already adopted children transnationally and, on the other hand, towards the professionals that are employed in the responsible organizations that operate in the scope of the intercountry adoptions in our country.

The ultimate goal of the research is to fully document the problems, the deficiencies and the practices of the field and to result to the creation of a Good Practice Guide, addressed to professionals and to prospective adoptive parents.

It should be mentioned that Intercountry Adoptions are the adoptions of a child from a country different than the country of residence of the prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) and a move is necessary after their realization.

The profile of the International Social Service

International Social Service-Hellenic Branch is an international, independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization. It was founded in 1924 with the main purpose to help the refugees of Asia Minor that came to Greece in 1922, while nowadays it is the only Greek organization that offers transnational social services.  

Since the 1950’s, the service has handled a great number of intercountry adoptions since it is the only NGO that has been recognized by the Greek Government as qualified to deal with cases of intercountry adoptions.

 The intercountry adoptions alongside the transnational child protection and the counseling of the intercultural families are the three basic areas of expertise of the Hellenic Branch of ISS.

The project «Practices and perspectives in intercountry adoptions» is conducted within the framework of the Active citizens fund and it is implemented by the International Social Service- Hellenic Branch.

 The Active citizens fund in Greece is supported through a € 12m grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021.

 The program aims to develop the sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector in Greece, and to strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding democratic procedures, active citizenship and human rights. The Fund Operator for the Active citizens fund in Greece is Bodossaki Foundation in consortium with SolidarityNow.

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