"It lacks resources and protocols that don't work": the counselor's diagnosis of the DGAIA

BarcelonaThe Minister of Social Rights, Mònica Martínez Bravo, announced this Monday morning that the Catalan government is embarking on a "comprehensive transformation" of the Directorate General for Child and Adolescent Care (DGAIA). Martínez Bravo stated this after a meeting with social sector organizations and professional associations, to whom she conveyed that the change will reflect "all the diagnoses and proposals" that the organizations have been demanding for years. The minister stated that the current situation is a "moment of catharsis" for the entire sector involved in child protection, and that the case of the 12-year-old girl in care who was sexually exploited should be a "window of opportunity" to address, now, a new strategy and planning for the entire system, according to a source in ARA.

At the meeting, the leadership of the regional ministry, along with the new director of the DGAIA, Josep Muñoz, expressed their desire to make the changes as soon as possible, but did not provide details of the timetable or what the changes would be. The case of the minor and the shortcomings that experts and minors highlight, the minister admitted in a brief appearance before the media that the problems at the DGAIA are evident: "There are management difficulties, a lack of resources and protocols that sometimes do not work," she said, adding that the agency must adapt to "social complexity" and new challenges.

The urgency regarding changes at the DGAIA has "accelerated" in recent days after details of the case of theTwelve-year-old girl under the protection of the administration who was sexually exploited for monthsby a pedophile network in Barcelona. "We've been working for months," the minister argued, "but the cases that have been brought to the table have accelerated this entire process of reflection." "We need to explain to the public everything we've worked on now," said Martínez Bravo, who added that the organizations have given a very positive assessment of the announcement.

The objective of this global transformation, which Martínez Bravo has been talking about for a few days now, will focus on "strengthening prevention and child protection," and the organizations and professional associations have expressed, on this point, the need for the focus of attention to go beyond children at risk and to work in a positive network. Ultimately, the aim is to invest in child and youth policies to prevent admissions to centers. "We must ensure that cases as shocking as those we have seen never happen again," the minister concluded.

Among the pillars of this reform is also improving the management of the DGAIA. "We need to provide a swift and decisive response," the minister insisted. The meeting, which lasted just under two hours, was attended by representatives of the professional associations of social education, social work, and psychology, as well as leaders of the Third Social Sector Roundtable, FEDAIA, the Confederation, and FEPA (the federation working on the emancipation of children in care). The president of the Roundtable, Xavier Trabado, assured reporters that the sector welcomes the plan proposed by the Government, because it should allow for the "rebirth" of the concept of the DGAIA and not just limit itself to modifying some protocol, reports ACN.

Changes in management

On Friday, the regional ministry stated that it had no record of whether the DGAIA had opened a case on this case in 2021, when it first came to light. However, Martínez Bravo did defend the decision.to replace Isabel Carrasco as director of the DGAIA in March, just six months after appointing her. According to the minister, Carrasco did not fit the profile to lead the reconstruction of the protection entity: "Her policy of continuity was of no use to us," she said in an interview on TV3, and then justified the appointment ofJosep Muñoz, who said he has a professional management careerand "will and capacity for transformation."