The delegate for Social Policies, Family, and Equality, José Fernández, during the inauguration of the conference to introduce these services to legal professionals
The Madrid City Council and the Family and Succession Section of the Illustrious Bar Association of Madrid (ICAM) have jointly organized a conference today to present the municipal resources that support families closely related to legal professionals. This collaboration will allow legal professionals to identify the profiles of families that may need assistance at each specific center of the City Council, as well as facilitate greater coordination between services and lawyers.
The delegate for Social Policies, Family, and Equality, José Fernández, inaugurated the conference emphasizing that at the Madrid City Council, «we work to support all families, especially those facing difficulties, always considering the rights of minors to have their best interests met.» In this regard, Fernández highlighted «the essential work carried out by Madrid lawyers to ensure access to justice for the most vulnerable individuals.» The delegate conveyed to the attending lawyers the significance of this conference, which will «bring municipal support resources closer to the families they represent so they know they can turn to them.»
Eight family support centers and 12 child care centers
These resources, as mentioned, are part of the Birth and Conciliation Promotion Plan of the Madrid City Council 2024-2029, with its second pillar focusing on support for parenting and shared responsibility. Among them are the eight family support centers (CAF), spaces where specialized psychosocial support is provided to prevent and address difficulties that may arise in parental functions and crisis situations causing conflicts in family relationships.
These resources were established in 2024 and have served over 452,000 families in the past 20 years. The Madrid City Council continues to invest in them, and in December 2024, inaugurated the eighth center located in the Carabanchel district. Families can access these centers directly on their own initiative, through referrals from other municipal resources, family courts, or domestic violence courts.
CAF offers social and psychological guidance to intervene in challenging situations such as parent-child relationships, couple dynamics, or coping with grief. Additionally, families have access to legal advice on matters related to filiation or relationship breakdown. Furthermore, CAFs provide services for the prevention and management of family violence and mediation to assist in addressing tension and conflict, promoting agreements in circumstances like separations, caring for older or dependent individuals, or intergenerational disagreements. Families can access the mediation service directly or through judicial referral via the Family Courts’ Mediation Information Point (PIM).
The Madrid City Council also manages 12 child care centers (CAI) integrated into the municipal child protection network. These centers provide specialized support services to children in situations of severe social risk or alleged neglect and their families. Specifically, they offer specialized social care to children and adolescents to ensure their well-being and preserve family coexistence through psychological, educational, and social support.
These centers assist children referred from the city’s 40 social services centers, the Minor Protection Area of the Community of Madrid, the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Madrid, or the Family and Domestic Violence Courts. In 2024, over 13,000 children were attended to, along with their families.
Family meeting points with high judicial approval
On the other hand, the four family meeting points (PEF) are specialized psychosocial intervention resources for families with minors involved in judicial situations following the breakdown of family cohabitation, where conflict prevents or hinders the court-ordered or administrative visitation arrangements. To ensure the right of minors to interact with their family members, these centers conduct supervised visits with professionals monitoring and facilitating exchanges to ensure safe handovers of minors. This service receives high approval from judicial authorities, being the primary referral channel.
Finally, the Madrid City Council has the CERPA, a resource specialized in psychosocial intervention with families where the breakup of the couple has severely impacted their parental functions, negatively affecting the well-being of the children. Here, users have access to medium to high-intensity psychological and social guidance, family mediation, advice, and family assessment.
