Foster families urge the Canary Islands not to leave protected children under six years of age in centers

In the archipelago, according to the report prepared by ASEAF, there are 28 babies from zero to three years old growing up in residential centers and 35 from four to six years old in this situation.

EFE

February 4 2025 (09:58 WET)
Woman holding a baby in her arms
Woman holding a baby in her arms

The State Association of Family Foster Care (ASEAF) has urged the Canary Islands Government this Monday to fulfill the commitment it reached in 2022, together with the rest of the communities and the central Executive, so that protected minors under six years of age live with foster families before the end of 2025 and not in residential centers

"However, according to the latest statistical data bulletin on child protection measures published a few days ago by the Ministry of Youth and Children, in the Canary Islands there are still 63 boys and girls living in foster centers," this association denounced in a statement. 

For this entity, which brings together 24 associations of foster families from all over Spain, administrations must adopt urgent measures to fulfill this commitment and has recalled that the law states that family foster care must prevail at all times, but especially for children under six years of age.

In the Canary Islands, according to the report prepared by ASEAF, there are 28 babies from zero to three years old growing up in residential centers; and 35 from four to six years old in this same situation. 

Nationally, the number of boys and girls under six years of age growing up in protected centers amounts to 1,200

"We know that many people want to urgently foster these babies, but they encounter numerous obstacles," they pointed out, a problem that "would be solved if the administrations dedicated more support resources to biological families and promoted the culture of foster care in our country."

ASEAF has recalled that the foster care time for these babies cannot legally exceed six months, but the reality is that after these emergency foster care cases exceed this period in the vast majority of cases. 

"To prevent this from happening, this entity asks the Canary Islands Government to increase the resources allocated to valuation services and establish maximum deadlines when deciding which protection measure is the most appropriate for those boys and girls," the entity added.
In addition, families who foster these babies, and who dedicate themselves exclusively to their care, are excluded from the contribution system.

"It is necessary to incorporate these families who do this emergency foster care into Social Security, as is the case with families who have dependent people in their care," they defended. 

According to this report, as of December 31, 2023, on the islands there were 981 boys and girls protected by the Government of the Canary Islands living in a family, while 767 were waiting in a foster center to have the same luck, a number that has increased up to 10% compared to the last study, when there were 691 in this same situation. 

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