The Government dismisses the director of the DGAIA six months after appointing her

BarcelonaThe Ministry of Social Rights has dismissed Isabel Carrasco, the head of the Directorate General for Child and Adolescent Care (DGAIA), who was appointed last September. The news came to her in advance. The Newspaper And sources from the regional ministry have framed the decision to dismiss the senior official as a "lack of understanding." Carrasco's replacement will be appointed at the weekly meeting of the Governing Council tomorrow, Tuesday, as well as the deputy director of the agency, Joan Mayoral, who has also been removed from the organization.

Sources from the department assure ARA that the dismissal of Mayoral and Carrasco had been "agreed upon" for "weeks" and have disassociated it from any error or mismanagement at the head of the entity that protects almost 20,000 minors. In this regard, they insist that it has no relation to the documentary broadcast on the program. 30 minutes from TV3 in which the difficulties of unaccompanied migrant minors in having all the permits once they leave the centers when they come of age were reported, just as it has also been denied that there is a relationship with the Complaints about irregularities in the payment of benefits to young migrants"I'd been looking for a way out for weeks," the same sources indicate. In fact, the documentary was filmed last year and was updated to include Carrasco's statements.

Carrasco came to the DGAIA leadership from the Campo de Tarragona territorial office, where she launched the first Barnahus, the comprehensive care service for children who are victims of sexual violence, which has spread throughout the territory after seeing the benefits it offers these minors. A social worker by training, she has also received recognition for her work from the Department of Justice and the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police). For her part, Mayoral has also been with the DGAIA for years and has now piloted the implementation of the Barnahus model throughout Catalonia, with the opening of 13 centers.

The DGAIA is the body that assumes the guardianship of minors who cannot live with their biological families. It has centers and homes where these children reside until they reach the age of majority, although Catalonia has extended the benefits and aid to 23 years of age to benefit this group, who must grow up in a more disadvantaged situation than the rest.

Industry sources consulted by this newspaper express their surprise at the dismissal just six months after Carrasco's appointment. This professional is well-known at the center, but would not have fit in with the department's children's secretary headed by Mònica Martínez Bravo. Without assessing the reasons for the dismissal, they point out that the DGAIA currently needs "stable projects, guidelines, and strategies" to avoid being constantly at the mercy of political directives. "We must ensure that legitimate political decisions do not impact the lives of children, adolescents, and young people, who are already very fragile due to their life circumstances," they state. They also highlight the "difficulties" for a technical expert like Carrasco, who is not involved in politics, in governing "an ocean liner like the DGAIA," where there have been structural personnel changes in recent months (due to transfers and the addition of new officials). The move by the two senior officials has created uncertainty in the sector due to the verbal commitments made by both outgoing officials.