How Spain's child protection system works

Terms used

• Comunidad autónoma — The comunidad autónoma is one of Spain's 17 regions, each with its own government and responsibility for social services.
• Servicios sociales de base — The servicios sociales de base are the local social services centre, the first place to report a concern or ask for support.
• Situación de riesgo — A situación de riesgo is when a child is harmed or their rights are affected but can stay at home with support.
• Desamparo — Desamparo is when a child is deprived of necessary care because parental duties are not met, so the agency takes over guardianship.
• Tutela — Tutela is legal guardianship; in desamparo the public agency holds it and your parental authority is suspended.
• Guarda — Guarda is the physical care of a child, which the agency can take voluntarily at your request or by court order.
• Fiscalía — The Fiscalía is the public prosecutor's office, which protects children's rights and supervises the protection agencies.

Key rules

• Regional system: The agency of the region where the child lives handles the case, so a move changes who is responsible.
• Harm threshold: Intervention depends on harm to the child's development or rights, not on your income or nationality.
• Voluntary guarda: If you ask the agency for temporary care, you keep parental authority.
• Fiscalía oversight: Anyone can report a concern to the Fiscalía, including about an agency's own actions.

Who runs child protection

Child protection in Spain is regional. The agency of the region where the child lives handles the case. Each comunidad autónoma runs it through its social services or family department, and the names differ from region to region. In the Basque Country the three provincial councils do it. In Ceuta and Melilla the city governments do it. National laws set the common rules, and regions add their own laws on top.

Your first contact is usually the local social services centre (servicios sociales de base). It receives reports and can offer support. The contacts page below lists where to go in each region.

Two levels of intervention

The system escalates in steps. Intervention rests on harm to the child, not on a family's income, nationality or lifestyle.

Situación de riesgo. The child suffers harm to their personal, family or social development, or to their rights, but does not need to leave the family. Typical causes are neglect, regular school absence or lack of care. The agency offers support measures and the child stays at home. Your parental authority is unaffected.

Situación de desamparo. Parental duties are not carried out, or are carried out badly, and the child lacks necessary moral or material care. The agency must then take tutela by law. This covers serious cases such as:

• abandonment
• serious or repeated physical, psychological or sexual abuse
• serious neglect of basic needs
• parents' addiction that seriously affects the child
• the death or inability of the parents or carers
• serious refusal to accept protective measures
• unaccompanied minors

What the agency can take on

There are three routes, and the decision below helps you tell them apart.

• Tutela by law. It starts automatically once the agency finds desamparo. The agency becomes legal guardian and also takes physical care of the child. Your parental authority is suspended for representing the child and managing their affairs.
• Voluntary guarda. You ask the agency to look after the child for a time because you cannot. It is put in writing, you keep parental authority and your duties, and it normally lasts up to two years.
• Guarda ordered by a court. A judge can order it without tutela.

The child goes to foster care with a family, which is preferred, or to a residential centre. You keep visiting rights unless they are limited. You can challenge the agency's decisions before the civil courts.

The role of the Fiscalía

The Fiscalía is the public prosecutor's office. Its job is to protect children's rights and to supervise the agencies.

• The agency must tell it at once about any desamparo decision and any guarda.
• It inspects residential centres at least every six months.
• It takes complaints and reports from anyone, can open its own inquiry, and can take a case to court.
• It must be heard in court cases on adoption, guardianship and protection measures.

If you think an agency is not acting, or is acting wrongly, you can write to the Fiscalía.

What to do

If you are worried about a child, contact your local social services centre. For advice, call the free child and youth line, 116 111. In an emergency, call 112. Anyone who sees a child at risk has a duty to report it.

If an agency contacts you, engage with it. Refusing support can push a risk case towards desamparo. The warnings below say more.

Moving to another region does not carry the case with you. The region where the child lives is responsible for them.

Choosing between options

Which kind of public care applies to the child?

• Voluntary guarda: You cannot care for the child for a time and ask the agency to take the child. It is agreed in writing, parents keep parental authority, and the length is set out in the guide on temporary care.

• Guarda ordered by a court: A court decides the child must be placed in care.

• Tutela by law: The agency finds the child in desamparo. The agency becomes legal guardian, takes physical care and suspends parental authority for representation and administration.

If the parents ask for help and keep their duties, it is voluntary guarda. If the agency finds desamparo, it takes tutela by law and the guarda of the child.

Checklist

• Find out which comunidad autónoma the child lives in, because that region's agency runs child protection.

• Contact your local social services centre (servicios sociales de base) to report a concern or ask for support.

• Ask the agency whether the case is a situación de riesgo, where the child stays at home with support, or a desamparo, where the agency takes over guardianship.

• Ask the agency which harm it has found, since intervention depends on harm to the child's development or rights.

• Send a report to the Fiscalía if you think the agency is not acting, as it supervises the agencies and receives reports from anyone.

What to watch out for

• Refusing support can lead to desamparo: Seriously refusing the protective measures offered in a situación de riesgo is one of the grounds for desamparo, when the agency takes guardianship of the child. Work with the agency on the support plan and ask for any measure you do not understand to be explained in writing.

• Desamparo suspends your parental authority: Once the agency declares desamparo, it becomes the legal guardian and your parental authority is suspended for representation and administration. Ask for the resolution in writing and get legal advice quickly, as the decision can be challenged before the civil courts.

• Risk is not only about abuse: Negligence, school absence and lack of care can place a child in situación de riesgo even when there is no abuse. Keep the child in school and ask social services early if you struggle to cope.

Child protection contacts by region

Child protection contacts

• Your comunidad's social services or family department: Contact the regional department that runs child protection where the child lives. Examples: Andalucía, Dirección General de Infancia; Cataluña, DGAIA within the Departament de Drets Socials; Madrid, Dirección General de Infancia, Familia y Fomento de la Natalidad; Comunitat Valenciana, Conselleria de Servicios Sociales, Igualdad y Vivienda; Galicia, Consellería de Política Social; Navarra, Agencia Navarra de Autonomía y Desarrollo de las Personas.

• Provincial Diputaciones Forales (País Vasco): In the Basque Country, contact the provincial council of the province where the child lives, as each of the three runs child protection.

• City government of Ceuta or Melilla: In Ceuta and Melilla, contact the city government, which runs child protection.

• Local social services centre (servicios sociales de base): Report a concern or ask for help at your local social services centre, which receives reports about children.

• 116 111 child helpline: Call 116 111 for advice or to talk about a child. It is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, every day.

• Emergency services, 112: Call 112 if a child is in immediate danger.

Agency names and structures change between regions; confirm the current body and contact details with your local servicios sociales.

Frequently asked questions

Does the public prosecutor take part when social services act on a child?

Yes, the Fiscalía (the public prosecutor's office) supervises the regional agency, which must inform it at once of any desamparo resolution and of any guarda. It also receives reports from anyone and can bring a case to court.

How often are children's residential centres inspected?

The Fiscalía inspects residential centres at least every six months. If you have concerns about a centre, you can report them to the Fiscalía directly.

Do parents lose parental authority when the agency takes a child into care?

It depends on the type of care: when the agency declares desamparo, it becomes legal guardian and parental authority is suspended for representation and administration. With voluntary guarda, parents keep parental authority and their duties.

Which region's agency handles my child's case if I move?

The agency of the region where the child lives handles the case. Children are the responsibility of their region of residence, so the body depends on where the child lives, not where the family comes from.