The General Council of Social Services has positively reported on the draft Canary Islands Child and Adolescence Law, a text of 192 articles that replaces the 1997 regulation and positions minors as subjects of rights. The law, which also regulates family care and child participation, will now proceed to Parliament.
The General Council of Social Services, meeting today, has given the green light to the draft of the future Canary Islands Child and Adolescence Law, an ambitious text of 192 articles that completely replaces Law 1/1997 and establishes a new comprehensive protection framework for minors in the Islands. The law recognises children and adolescents as subjects of rights and active citizenship, reinforcing prevention, participation, and coordination among administrations.
The project has been developed collaboratively with administrations, social entities, and professional colleges, and has included a consultation by UNICEF Canarias involving 1,201 minors aged between 3 and 17 years. This participatory process is one of the hallmarks of the new law, which aims to place the voice of children at the centre of the system.
Among the main innovations, the law incorporates the logic of the state law LOPIVI to create safe environments in educational, health, sports, and social fields. Furthermore, it prioritises family care over institutionalisation, regulates the creation of emergency residential resources, and guarantees support programmes for independent living for young people who have aged out of care.
On the administrative front, the law raises organisational and cooperation requirements between the Autonomous Community, the councils, and the municipalities. To modernise processing and avoid institutional fragmentation, a digital administrative file and a shared information system will be implemented in collaboration with ISTAC. Child participation will be institutionalised in a stable manner through the creation of new social consultation bodies, including the future Canary Islands Council for Childhood and Adolescence.
The actual implementation of the provisions will be carried out gradually, as its additional provisions stipulate that its progressive application will be conditioned by the budgetary availability of the islands. As a final balance, the project configures an integral, gradual, shared, participatory, and sustainable system. Its main value is to shift the focus from mere administrative protection to the effective guarantee of rights, prevention, good treatment, and participation.
The Minister of Social Services, in statements after the meeting, highlighted that "this law represents a paradigm shift: we move from a welfare model to one of rights, where the minor is the protagonist." He added that "the main challenge will be to turn this ambitious design into resources, coordination, and sufficient professional capacity across all the islands."
The law will now follow its usual administrative process until it is approved by the Government Council and sent to Parliament for approval before the end of this legislative term. It is expected to come into effect gradually throughout 2027.
Canary Islands Citizenship Income: also positively reported
The General Council of Social Services has also positively reported on the draft regulation that develops the right to access social inclusion and employment insertion programmes and services provided for in the Canary Islands Citizenship Income Law. This regulatory development completes one of the essential aspects outlined in Law 5/2022, by establishing the procedures and tools that will allow social services to design individualised intervention pathways, tailored to the needs of each person or household.
The regulation does not create new economic benefits but develops the necessary instruments to fully realise the right recognised by the law, reinforcing the role of social services as the axis of support for vulnerable individuals. Among the main innovations is the regulation of social diagnosis as a technical instrument to assess vulnerability; the Personalised Care Plan, which will set objectives and actions aimed at promoting social and labour inclusion; and the accredited social report, a document that will serve as technical support for the granting, monitoring, review, or termination of the benefit.
Additionally, the future regulation develops the exceptional cases provided for in the law to facilitate access to the Canary Islands Citizenship Income for individuals facing urgent or social emergency situations. It also establishes coordination mechanisms among the various public administrations involved in managing social services, as well as standardised models for preparing social diagnoses, personalised plans, inclusion agreements, and social reports, with the aim of ensuring a homogeneous, transparent, and effective action across the Canary Islands.
The regulation incorporates a cross-cutting approach to protecting the most vulnerable groups, with specific measures for people with disabilities, minors and families in vulnerable situations, women victims of gender violence, and LGTBIQ+ individuals, integrating a gender perspective and an intersectional approach in social assessment and intervention processes. After its passage through the General Council of Social Services, the text will continue its processing.
For Canary Islanders, this dual approval represents a significant advance in the protection of children and the fight against social exclusion. The new child law, with its emphasis on prevention and family care, promises to reduce the institutionalisation of minors, while the regulation of the Canary Islands Citizenship Income will improve support for the most vulnerable individuals, with personalised plans aimed at their real inclusion.
You may also like
