The social care home for physically and mentally disabled children in the village of Mogilino would be closed, Standart daily reported. This became clear on November 5 after a visit by Labour and Social Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova, European Integration Minister Gergana Grancharova and Justice Minister Miglena Tacheva to the home.

The home in Mogilino became infamous after the BBC documentary Bulgaria's Abandoned Children aired, portraying the living conditions there.

The reason to close the home was not the bad conditions, but the children's need to receive specialised help, minister Maslarova said. According to her the personnel took good care of the 65 physically and mentally disabled children.

Maslarova added that a day-care centre could be created in the Mogilino home building if any of the people working there or the people from the village decided to raise some of the children in their families. Since there was hardly any interest in adopting them, the Justice Ministry was considering facilitating foreign adoption procedures as well as the disabled children adoption procedure.

In the meantime the Agency for Social Support drew up a plan to accommodate the Mogilino children in alternative specialised homes and protected homes and to provide specialised care for them, a press release by the Council of ministers said. Out of 65 children 4 are already accommodated in specialised institutions in Brestnik and Ruse, 4 are being prepared to be transferred and 3 are sent to specialised kindergartens.

By November 10, 2007 each child should have its own expert profile. The parents of 21 of the children had already given their consent for adoption, Maslarova said.

Minister Grancharova said 10 per cent of the EU citizens were disabled and 51 per cent of Europeans thought efforts to socialise disabled people were not sufficient. She commented that the issue needed to be discussed in order for society to become involved.

Bulgaria's Abandoned Children will be screened on November 6 at the Red House Centre for culture and debate in Sofia. The screening will be followed by a debate on the institutional care for children with disabilities in Bulgaria, Bulgarian News Agency BTA reported.