Spain allocates €35 million for unaccompanied migrant minors

The Spanish Council of Ministers approved a €35 million credit to support the care of unaccompanied migrant children across the country. The funds will be distributed to autonomous communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla based on the pressure on their reception systems. Andalusia will receive €4.038 million, Ceuta €5.5 million, the Canary Islands and Melilla each €4 million, Catalonia €3.65 million, the Community of Madrid €3.63 million, the Valencian Community €2.59 million, the Balearic Islands €2 million, Murcia €1.355 million, and smaller allocations to Extremadura, Castilla‑La Mancha, Aragón, Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja and others. The money can be used for information, orientation and psychosocial support, schooling, social‑labour integration and residential or family placement, as well as to expand the capacity of the reception system. The allocation will be ratified at the upcoming Conference on Childhood and Adolescence. Youth and Childhood Minister Sira Rego said Spain is “a reference country in solidary reception of this collective and of human rights,” adding that the credit “demonstrates the government’s effort to sustain autonomous reception systems and guarantee the best interests of children.”