Act 14/2010, on rights and opportunities during childhood and adolescence (LDOIA), is reaching the tenth anniversary without regulations being implemented or budgetary allocations being assigned in order to lend viability to the measures, especially for children at risk. Only four decrees have been approved that partially implement certain services, but not the regulation that would have allowed these measures to be defined and executed.
It is essential to raise awareness among professionals of both Basic Social Services (SSB) and Specialised Social Services (SSE) about the importance of using the technical concepts of risk of child maltreatment and child maltreatment in their assessments and proposed measures with regard to children and their families. They should not be allowed to be replaced by the legal concepts of risk situation and situation of neglect as defined in the LDOIA.
Social work with regard to children, adolescents and families is one of the areas of action of social workers which has gained traction within SSB and SSE, and from public initiative and the third social sector. Work must continue on the implementation of the various Regional Children’s Boards, coordinating all the stakeholders involved and promoting networking.
It is also absolutely necessary to broaden and enhance the perspective of comprehensive policy on childhood and adolescence in Catalonia, with broader integration of all the systems involved whilst providing genuine decision-making capacity with true scope to benefit from the necessary resources according to the principle of budgetary priority.
