Temporary care (guarda voluntaria) when you can't cope

Terms used

• Guarda voluntaria — Guarda voluntaria is temporary care of your child by the regional agency, requested by you when you cannot cope.
• Patria potestad — Patria potestad is parental authority: your legal right and duty to make decisions for your child.
• Desamparo — Desamparo is the legal finding that a child is left without proper care, allowing the agency to take over as guardian.
• Tutela — Tutela is when the agency becomes your child's legal guardian after a finding of desamparo.

Key rules

• Not abandonment: Asking for guarda voluntaria is a legal protective route, and you keep your parental authority.
• Length: Temporary care normally lasts up to two years, and only longer when the child's best interest requires it because a return home is expected soon.
• Where to start: Apply in writing to the regional child protection agency, usually through your local social services.
• Contact: You keep visiting and contact rights unless the agency limits them for your child's interest.

The short answer

If you cannot look after your child for now, you can ask the regional child protection agency to take over the daily care. This is called guarda voluntaria. It is a legal protective route, not abandonment. It is time-limited, and you stay your child's parent with parental authority.

Who can ask and why

Parents or legal guardians can ask when serious circumstances make it impossible to care for the child for a time. You do not need to wait for the authorities to step in. Asking early is often what keeps a family together.

How you ask

You apply in writing to the regional child protection agency. In practice you usually start at your local social services, who pass the request on. The agency decides whether to accept the care and issues a written resolution. Before you agree, the agency must explain the effects to you. The public prosecutor's office is also told. Forms and procedures differ by region, so ask social services what applies where you live.

The resolution sets out your duties, how contact with your child will work and how long the care is expected to last. Keep a copy.

What stays with you

• You keep parental authority (patria potestad). Only the day-to-day care passes to the agency.
• Your child is usually placed with a foster family, or in a residential centre.
• You keep the right to visits and contact, as set in the resolution. The agency can restrict them only if your child's interest requires it.
• You must keep contributing to your child's support where you can.

How long it lasts

The length of care is set by the rule in the key rules box. When the time is up, the agency must return your child. If neglect is shown, the agency can instead declare desamparo, meaning the child is considered abandoned in the legal sense. It then takes over as legal guardian (tutela), and your parental authority is suspended for representing and managing your child's affairs. This is different from guarda voluntaria, where you keep your authority.

Getting your child back

You can ask to end the care and have your child returned. The exception is when your child would be in danger. If you disagree with a decision, it can be challenged before the civil courts.

Use the decision, timeline, checklist and questions below to work out your next step.

Choosing between options

Should you ask for temporary care (guarda voluntaria) of your child?

• Ask for temporary care yourself: You cannot look after your child for now but expect to take them back. You keep parental authority and your contact rights, and care normally lasts up to two years.

• Wait for the agency to act: If the agency finds your child in desamparo (serious neglect), it takes over as legal guardian on its own.

If the difficulty is temporary and you want to stay the child's parent in law, ask for guarda voluntaria; if neglect is shown, the agency can instead take guardianship, and you can challenge that before the civil courts.

Timeline and deadlines

• Receive the agency's written resolution with your duties, contact arrangements and expected length of care: once the agency accepts the care

• Care continues, with your visits and contact as set in the resolution: normally up to two years

• Care may continue longer if the child's best interest requires it because a return home is expected soon: after two years, only in exceptional cases

• The agency returns your child, or, if neglect is shown, declares desamparo and takes over as legal guardian (tutela): when the time limit ends

Checklist

• Contact your local social services and explain that you cannot look after your child for now.

• Make a written application to the regional child protection body for temporary care (guarda voluntaria).

• Read the written resolution and check that it lists your obligations, the contact arrangements and the expected length of care.

• Keep a copy of the resolution and plan your visits as it sets them out.

Frequently asked questions

Do I lose my parental authority if I ask for guarda voluntaria?

No, you keep your parental authority when you ask for guarda voluntaria; only the day-to-day care of the child passes to the agency. The agency acts through a foster family or a residential centre. You still have your duties as a parent, including contributing to the child's support where you can.

Can I still see my child during guarda voluntaria?

Yes, you keep the right to visits and contact, and the arrangements are written into the agency's resolution.

Can I ask to end guarda voluntaria and get my child back?

Yes, you can ask to end the guarda and have your child returned, unless the child would be in danger. Put the request to the same regional agency that accepted the care.

What is the difference between guarda voluntaria and tutela?

Guarda voluntaria is something you ask for, while tutela is imposed by the agency when it finds a child in desamparo (serious neglect). With tutela, your parental authority is suspended for representing the child and managing their affairs. With guarda voluntaria, you keep it.