PGR regrets lack of foster families for children in Portugal
The Attorney-General today deplored the lack of foster families in Portugal and argued that the country has a long way to go in this matter, at the opening of the 7th edition of the Abrigo Association Forum, in Montijo.
© Lusa
![Notícias ao Minuto](https://cdn.noticiasaominuto.com/img/equipa/pessoa/lusa.png)
País Lucília Gago
Lucília Gago considered it essential to further disseminate the resource to host families, as well as increasing the number of available families, taking into account that Portugal, "although endowed with advanced legislation, occupies a backward place in the decree of this measure, recognized by specialists" as having "countless advantages for the well-being of children, in relation to residential care".
The Attorney General of the Republic also recalled the most recent UNICEF report, released in January, which states that Portugal has "95% of children taken into care within the scope of the promotion and protection system in residential care", which represents "the highest value among the 42 countries analyzed".
According to the PGR, the current legislation provides that foster care is the preferred solution whenever the beneficiary child is up to 6 years old.
On the other hand, Lucília Gago defended the need for a reflection on the application of a semi-open regime for young people in residential care, considering that the current situation generates "perverse effects".
Among these, Lucília Gago highlighted the "successive escapes, which throw them into defenselessness", warning of situations of "begging, prostitution, drug and alcohol consumption and dependence".
At the opening session of the forum, which took place at the Joaquim de Almeida cinema in Montijo, Setúbal district, the president of Abrigo, Jacinto Guilherme Pereira, warned that "social, political and economic uncertainties will continue to be on the horizon, affecting the most vulnerable social groups and especially children and young people at risk".
Jacinto Guilherme Pereira also argued that the growing immigration requires a "solid and realistic strategy, above all effective, of economic, social and cultural integration", so that institutions prepare technical teams and their form of intervention to respond to this new reality.
Read also: PGR criticizes the closure of residences in educational centers (Portuguese version)
Descarregue a nossa App gratuita.
Oitavo ano consecutivo Escolha do Consumidor para Imprensa Online e eleito o produto do ano 2024.
* Estudo da e Netsonda, nov. e dez. 2023 produtodoano- pt.com