The first vice-president of the Junta and Minister of Deregulation, Family and Social Assistance, Carlos Pollán, of Vox, assured this Monday that he will visit the Zambrana Children's Center in Valladolid "in the coming days" in order to learn firsthand about the reality of the staff and express his support.
During his speech, Pollán announced that the internal functioning of the children's centers will be strengthened and reiterated his commitment to improving the quality of care and safety, for which he plans to establish "homogeneous criteria for professional staffing" adapted to the capacity and particularities of each resource.
In his legislative appearance, the minister alluded to the "major problem" suffered by social workers in residential care centers, specifically mentioning "threats" and "physical assaults by interned minors."
Regarding residential care, he announced that the territorial network of specialized resources will be completed, "guaranteeing at least one socialization center and a supervised home in each province," in addition to announcing new specific services for supervised minors with mental health disorders.
In parallel, he has set the objective of strengthening the foster care program, for which he plans to increase funds for the recruitment, training, assessment, and technical support of foster families. "The objective is to ensure that protected minors, who cannot be cared for by their families of origin, grow up and integrate their lives in a suitable environment," defended the Vox leader, who has set the challenge of making family-based alternatives the majority over residential care in the coming years.
Pollán provided data as of December 31, 2025, when 1,425 minors remained separated from their families: 719 were in residential care resources—50.46 percent—and 706 in family-based alternative resources—49.54 percent—.
On another matter, he announced that the current 'Regional Commissioner for Drugs' will be renamed 'Commissioner for Addictions' and detailed that the regulations will be updated and strengthened to respond to new consumption patterns and behavioral or substance-free addictions, such as pathological gambling, problematic internet use, video games, social media, online betting, and other addictive behaviors.
In this area, it has committed to implementing support, training, and guidance programs for families, with the aim of strengthening their preventive capacities, facilitating early detection of risk behaviors, and fostering their active involvement in therapeutic and social inclusion processes.
Likewise, it has opted to develop integrated information systems that allow for the improvement of epidemiological surveillance, coordination among professionals, trend analysis, results evaluation, and evidence-based decision-making, as well as coordination among resources and the improvement of public policies.
"We will guarantee coordinated and specialized care for individuals who simultaneously present an addictive disorder and another mental health disorder, promoting continuity of care, shared care pathways, and specific training for professionals," he added.
Finally, it has reiterated its intention to reinforce institutional, technical, and economic support for third-sector entities and other community resources, recognizing their "key role" in prevention, treatment, harm reduction, social integration, and support for families.