Services for children and young people
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Services for children and young people
Barcelona City Council wants to increase the number of centres and services for children and young people in risk situations
The Councillor for Social Action and the Citizen, Ricard Gomà, explained the local government measures to increase the number of centres, services and resources for young people and children at risk or in vulnerable situations. In the 2007-2010 municipal programme for childhood and adolescence, the council wants to extend the network of children's centres, the participation of children in leisure activities, and increase the socio-educational activities. The 2008 budget for these projects has been increased 36.5%.
Barcelona City Council will continue to strengthen the service at open centres created in 2006, dedicated to children and adolescents with social and family problems. The aim is to increase the number of centres from 10 to 13 in 2008, and the number of places from 705 to 1,000, with a budget increase from 300,000 to 460,000 euros.
The socio-educational service, in the plan A Partir del Carrer, for young children and adolescents who are generally on the streets, has increased the number of children linked to the programme from 1,572 in 2004 to 3,947 in 2007, with ten more youth workers, now 32. In 2008, the budget has been increased 17% and four more youth workers will be employed to work in more than thirty neighbourhoods, reaching 4,000 children.
A collaboration agreement will be signed between the Barcelona Youth Council, the Laic i Progressista Movement and the Pere Tarrés Foundation, which, combined, have a total of more than two hundred leisure centres in the districts and offer help and assistance to families. An agreement has also been signed with the Obra Social "la Caixa" for four cyber halls to support education and work towards preventing absenteeism.
Today, there are 38 different municipal services for children in Barcelona - social, educational, cultural, sport and health.