The news about the failure of the DGAIA (General Directorate for Child and Adolescent Care), part of the Department of Social Rights, to adequately fulfill its responsibilities has shaken public opinion and led to nominally radical reactions from the responsible department's counselor. Throughout this very sad episode, I have missed some elements of realism, which have sometimes crept in through the cracks in the news and interviews. I am referring to the complaint—or denunciation, to be precise—of the appalling working conditions of the people entrusted with the extremely delicate task of caring for the children and adolescents who have ended up under the guardianship of the DGAIA.
I don't quite understand why the authorities haven't explicitly addressed this problem. Let's not fool ourselves: the most delicate tasks of public institutions like the DGAIA are poorly paid, with all the aggravating factors of scarcity, precariousness, and lack of protection in case of problems. It's not surprising that the DGAIA often has to seek ways to outsource the service, due to its inability to recruit suitable personnel with adequate compensation. I am in favor of outsourcing in many cases, but if it only responds to economic reasons and doesn't provide satisfactory fulfillment of the entrusted obligations, the solution is unacceptable.
The Department of Social Rights (or Social Welfare –welfare (it's the most universal concept–) has few resources. The more than three billion (3,322) of the last approved budget, which is for the year 2023, seem like a lot because it is the third most endowed department of the Generalitat, but they are a pittance when compared to its obligations, which include all the payments for benefits under the Personal Autonomy Law and care for dependency, and those for dependency and those for dependency without any possible control for management improvement, the thickness of the budget. There is little left for policies not required by state law, and Parliament frequently expands them, with little attention to where the possible origin of the budgetary resources will be. Let us remember that the population of Catalonia has grown by 30% in this century and by more than one hundred thousand people in each of the last three years. We increasingly demand more attention, and no one pays too much attention to the mismatch between obligations and the economic possibilities to meet them.
Why? The simplest and most authentic reason is that the Department of Social Rights has always been the poor of the Generalitat. Fewer technical staff, less well paid, with tasks that deprive talent even though they are highly demanding, rarely promoted due to a lack of management positions, although generally well-prepared, very willing, and in good faith, which is why they suffer a certain amount of abuse by the authorities in this vocation. The same complaints about medical, nursing, and teaching staff are repeated, but starting at lower levels. The staff, who must be qualified, do not receive salaries comparable to those of Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), firefighters, inspectors, lawyers, economists, senior technicians (there are some in Social Rights, but few), judges, teachers, etc. Those categories that would be needed are there, but for few people and at a lower level. The result is that everyone who can afford it flees the Department of Social Rights. Where qualified personnel are needed, they must be paid for if we do not want them to abandon the responsibilities they are intended to be assigned without adequate compensation and protection.
It would be unfair not to emphasize that one of the areas where the underfunding of the Generalitat of Catalonia is most severely affected is precisely this: spending on social welfare programs. Given that these are all labor-intensive programs, the very real grievance of underfunding is magnified by the grievance of not taking purchasing power parity into account. The more one has to resort to hiring workers or providing support in the form of personal subsidies, the more one suffers from the differential in the cost of living, which in Catalonia is higher than in most of the autonomous communities.
The task that falls to the Department of Social Rights is enormous and, above all, growing rapidly. I would like the critics to mention this basic fact. To the extent that Social Rights must dedicate immense effort to addressing the aging process, the strong flow of irregular immigration, the increasingly frequent family breakdown, and the growing awareness of people's various shortcomings—all processes that continue to grow—its objective is always impossible. It manages to increase frustration without being able to convey satisfaction for the work done. This is a shame, because the task is very valuable, but it cannot be based entirely on voluntarism and vocation. The best intentions are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the challenge.
