The Department of Social Welfare of the Arrecife City Council, directed by Maite Corujo, celebrates the 27-year trajectory of the Municipal Specialized Team for Children and Family (EMEIF), created on November 3, 1997 in accordance with the Law of Comprehensive Care for Minors in the Canary Islands.
This pioneering team in Lanzarote, initially made up of three professionals, has grown to have nine highly trained people, whose work has been key to the protection and well-being of minors and their families in the municipality.
Maite Corujo, after highlighting the EMEIF's commitment in these almost three decades, stressed that “this team represents the heart of our commitment to children and families. Their daily effort goes far beyond professional intervention; It is an essential support in times of difficulty for many homes in Arrecife.”
Currently, the EMEIF is structured in two key sections: one for prevention and one for risk, in order to comprehensively address the problems that affect children and their family environments.
The prevention section team has six family educators who work preventively in coordination with educational centers and other institutions. Its objective is to detect and address problems in the family nucleus in early stages, preventing them from worsening and contributing to the well-being of minors.
For its part, the risk section team intervenes in those cases where the problems are already accentuated. A specialized team of three professionals (a social worker, a family educator and a psychologist), who coordinates closely with the Prosecutor's Office for Minors and other organizations to offer intensive intervention, guaranteeing a safe and adequate environment for minors at risk.
The EMEIF carries out family interventions, actively coordinating with schools, health centers and the local police, among other resources. In addition, it organizes recreational activities such as Children's Day and drawing and painting contests, which allow children to express their creativity and raise awareness about their rights and well-being.
“This team is constantly evolving, strengthening itself to respond to the new realities that affect our families,” adds the capital's head of Social Welfare.
A team committed to protecting children
The creation of the EMEIF in 1997 represented a significant advance in comprehensive care for children in the Canary Islands, by delegating child protection powers to municipalities with the financial support of the Government of the Canary Islands. Today, after almost three decades of experience, the team continues to consolidate itself as a benchmark for professional and human work in the municipality of Arrecife.
For Maite Corujo, “this anniversary is an opportunity to recognize the efforts of all the professionals who, from its beginnings until today, have dedicated their work to building a safe and favorable environment for minors and their families.”
