The Socialist Group in the Cabildo of Lanzarote has publicly denounced that the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, and his island government voted against, in the plenary session this Thursday, a motion aimed at improving the foster care system for minors in the Canary Islands. An initiative that had as its "sole objective" to defend the rights of the most vulnerable children and demand that the Autonomous Government "act urgently in the face of a situation that violates the legality and dignity of these boys and girls."
The proposal, defended by the socialist spokesperson Ariagona González, urged the Government of the Canary Islands to "urgently strengthen the family foster care program, adequately staff the General Directorate of Child Protection and promote campaigns that encourage the participation of families willing to foster minors in situations of abandonment."
“More than two hundred children under the age of six are being cared for in residential centers, when the law clearly establishes that family foster care should be the first option. There are no possible excuses when we talk about boys and girls growing up without the warmth of a family. The insensitivity of Coalición Canaria and the Partido Popular is unjustifiable,” said González.
From the PSOE they warn that this situation not only violates the Organic Law of Juridical Protection of Minors, but also causes irreparable damage to the affective and emotional development of minors. “We are talking about babies and children who should be in safe, non-institutionalized family environments. What kind of policy is one that turns its back on children?”, questioned the socialist spokesperson.
The motion also focused on the urgent need to increase human resources in the public services responsible for processing foster care, since currently the procedures are blocked due to lack of personnel. This situation, together with the decrease in available families after the pandemic, has created a bottleneck that prevents minors from accessing a home.
“Those who have the generosity to offer themselves as a foster family cannot face endless and frustrating processes. The Government of the Canary Islands has tools, but there is a lack of political will. And the serious thing is that Oswaldo Betencort and his government partners refuse even to demand that they be used,” added the socialist spokesperson.
González believes that the rejection of this motion by the president of the Cabildo and his group demonstrates a lack of ethical and political commitment to the most vulnerable children. “The Canary Islands cannot demand solidarity from the rest of the State if it is not capable of fulfilling its own responsibilities. What they have voted against today is common sense, it is humanity, it is complying with the law and with children,” concluded Ariagona González