The Basque Country has presented a new plan for children and families with 17 operational measures

On Wednesday, the Department of Equality, Justice and Social Policies of the Basque Government presented in Vitoria-Gasteiz the Fifth Plan for Families, Children and Adolescents of the Basque Country, a generally known strategic document which is now in the final phase of validation with the participation of the Basque Council for Families and the Council for Children and Adolescents.

The Plan will mark the road map for public policies in these areas until 2030. It advocates a flexible model that is evaluated annually and for the first time unifies strategies for children, adolescents and families into a single framework. It has 34 lines of action articulated through 17 innovative tractor measures and 78 specific actions to respond to current social, educational, economic and demographic challenges.

Among the measures proposed are the extension ofaid of EUR 200 per dependent child , the extension of maternity and paternity leave, the drafting of a specific decree for single-parent families , the deployment of the 2030 Child Guarantee Strategy and the implementation of an initiative to support the upbringing of children, as well as the creation of a specialized service for minors victims of sexual violence, as well as the Observatory for Children and Adolescents.

In her speech, Counsellor Nerea Melgosa highlighted the transformative nature of the plan and stressed that "the family remains the core of the transmission of values and is much more diverse in the Basque Country than it was a few years ago. This plan recognizes its role as an active agent of collective well-being".

The document is the result of a broad participatory process involving families, minors, social organizations and public administrations, involving 23 families from the three territories, 30 children from 12 schools, 44 institutional representatives and 20 specialized agents.

The Plan identifies six major challenges : support for family diversity, prevention of violence and promotion of equal educational opportunities. It also proposes reconciliation, social mobility and strengthening cooperation between institutions and civil society.

One of the highlights of the Plan is the creation of a Children's and Adolescents' Forum to enable children and adolescents to participate directly in the development and monitoring of policies affecting them.

With this official presentation, the Basque Government completes the design of the Plan and will forward it to the relevant advisory bodies for final validation.