The national deputy for the PSOE representing La Gomera, Esther Rodríguez, has expressed her satisfaction following the approval in the Congress of Deputies' Commission for Youth and Children of a socialist proposal focused on information campaigns and the promotion of foster care for minors under public administration guardianship.

Rodríguez emphasized the importance of prioritizing foster care over residential care, stating, "When a child cannot remain with their family of origin, our priority must be to guarantee them a stable and effective protective environment, a home, in short; a life as similar as possible to that of any child. Therefore, our legislation establishes that foster care must be prioritized over residential care." She highlighted that current legislation already establishes this preference.

According to data from the Platform for Childhood, foster care has seen a decline to 45.2%, moving away from the 70% target set for 2030. In contrast, residential care has increased by 16.7%, now representing 54.8% of the total, with 1,242 children under six years old living in centers. Rodríguez pointed out that there is still "enormous social ignorance about what foster care is."

The socialist non-legislative proposal (PNL) therefore aims to raise awareness and normalize this child protection measure, as well as encourage more families to offer themselves for foster care. "We are talking about generating social awareness," added the deputy, emphasizing that the proposal "is reasonable and useful" to ensure no minor grows up in an institution if they can do so in a family.

Additionally, the Commission approved another socialist PNL proposing the inclusion in Social Security for specialized foster carers who dedicate their lives exclusively to this role.