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Diario Euskadi

Basque Government Delegates Response to Foreign Families Abandoning Children to Provincial Councils

Councillor Nerea Melgosa states that addressing this issue is a «foral competence» and offers the Government's support to territorial executives.

Generic image of a family silhouette on a city street at dusk, with a child's hand reaching back.
IA

Generic image of a family silhouette on a city street at dusk, with a child's hand reaching back.

The Basque Government has transferred the responsibility for addressing the issue of foreign families abandoning their children in Euskadi to the provincial councils, with Councillor Nerea Melgosa emphasizing it falls under foral jurisdiction.

The Basque Government has assigned the provincial councils the task of managing the situation of foreign families who abandon their children in Euskadi. Nerea Melgosa, Councillor for Welfare, Youth, and Demographic Challenge, stated on Tuesday that this matter falls under «foral competence» and assured that her department would be available to territorial executives for any necessary support.
This phenomenon, though still a minority issue, is on the rise. As reported by EL CORREO, parents are leaving their underage children in Euskadi to be placed under the guardianship of the foral governments. The Bizkaia Provincial Council, through its Deputy for Social Action, Amaia Antxustegi, has detected six cases in recent months where families have left their children in the territory for care within the foral reception network.
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"When it happens, we notify the Prosecutor's Office so they can carry out the investigations they deem appropriate and, if they decide, order arrests."

Amaia Antxustegi · Deputy for Social Action
This practice is becoming increasingly normalized among families from Morocco. Moulay Driss Sadiki, an unofficial spokesperson for this community in Bizkaia, attributed the situation to a «pull factor» promoted by the social policies of the provincial council. He explained that some parents leave their underage children here seeking «a better status» because they «want their child to study a degree or pursue vocational training».
In addition to this fraud, the Bizkaia Provincial Council is concerned about two other issues related to the reception of minors. One is the suspicion that adults are posing as teenagers to benefit from the reception network. The foral government estimates that at least 100 individuals, 20% of all those under guardianship, could be in this situation.
Consequently, it has requested the Prosecutor's Office to conduct age tests to verify if these alleged adults are fraudulently occupying places intended for minors. Despite being, along with the Canary Islands, one of the most strained territories, Bizkaia has only carried out 41 of the 7,562 age tests performed on foreign minors in Spain over the last year.
The second problem is saturation. Bizkaia has resources to accommodate around 400 young people, but currently cares for 487, having reached almost 600. The provincial council expresses its dissatisfaction with the attitude of other regions that are not fulfilling their responsibilities. «There is no control; we receive minors who should be under guardianship in other communities,» summarized Amaia Antxustegi.

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