Coverage for 135,178 children and adolescents in the different approach modalities, adaptation of the 24-hour special protection system towards family and community-based management, 10% increase in the adoption system and strengthening of the care system in time centers partial were some of the achievements presented by the authorities of the institution, this Friday 8.
On the occasion, they were the president of the institution, Pablo Abdala; the vice president, Aldo Velázquez; the general director, Dinorah Gallo; the director of Strategic and Budget Planning, Andrea Tejera; the General Deputy Director of Program Management, Gabriela Bañales; the director of Territorial Management, Marina Cal, and the director of Administrative Management, Álvaro Pantín.
In his speech, Abdala highlighted the importance of publicly presenting the achievements and challenges of institutional management and considered that it is a sign of transparency towards all citizens. In addition, he reviewed the main lines of action of the current administration, which are: deepen the adaptation of the 24-hour special protection system towards family and community-based models; strengthen the care system in part-time centers, the system for responses to all forms of violence against children and adolescents, and the stewardship and the link with society.
The full-time care system is robust and is where more vacancies have been generated, more efficient care for children and adolescents and the creation and reconversion of residences to shelter and family strengthening centers (CAFF), he explained. He added that in 2021 the opening of one of these centers was completed and that three transformations towards that care profile are in process.
The hierarch maintained that guaranteeing the right to live as a family is one of the priorities of this administration and that for this it works in a coordinated and effective way with the Judicial Power. In this sense, he highlighted the incorporation of 323 foster families into the system, which occurred after the public awareness campaign carried out by the institute in 2021, called Friendly Family. 554 children and adolescents were linked, which means a 10% increase compared to 2020.
He asserted that the continuity of all the projects and the generation of others, in relation to the service centers, were sought. This involved expanding quotas both in CAIFs and in children’s clubs and youth centers. In addition, he recalled that in 2021, 14 early childhood centers (CPI) were opened; 12 child and family care centers (CAIF), a space for education and care with unions and companies (Always) and a community care home, to which 1,490 children were linked. He added that by the end of the year there will be another 24 centers in the process of being opened.
Regarding the approach to situations of violence, he indicated that two more effective models of care were developed for the specific protection of victims of commercial and non-commercial sexual exploitation and for those who experienced violence, abuse and mistreatment.
In addition, the hierarch reviewed other achievements, such as the design of a 24-hour specialized service for adolescents in situations of sexual exploitation, the creation of a center specialized in direct attention to violence (CEAV) of children and adolescents, in Florida, and the signing of an agreement with the University of the Republic, the Attorney General’s Office and UNICEF on the impact of femicides in Uruguay.
On the other hand, Abdala explained that in terms of mental health, work is being done on the transition from the old biomedical and welfare model to the socio-educational one. The 30 therapeutic companions who joined the institution in 2020 meant a qualitative change in care, since the stay of children and adolescents in psychiatric clinics was shortened.
Likewise, he highlighted the work of institutional strengthening with the creation of Honorary Advisory Councils in the 19 departments, the new unit specialized in gender and the consolidation of the inspection areas of public entertainment and child and adolescent labor. “Properly understood stewardship implies the need for a strong Institute with a presence in the territory,” he concluded.
