The City Council of Madrid has incorporated over 300 new professionals into municipal social services as part of the Strategic Plan 2023-2027, which has reached 97% execution.
The City Council of Madrid has taken a giant step in transforming its social services. In the last three years, more than 300 new professionals have joined the staff of the Area of Social Policies, Family and Equality, as reported on Thursday by delegate José Fernández during the Sectorial Council of Social Services.
The Strategic Plan for Social Services 2023-2027, which anticipated the gradual incorporation of 329 workers with an investment of 15 million euros, has already achieved 97% of the planned actions, whether completed or underway. Of the 74 measures it includes, 38 are finished (51%) and 34 are currently being executed (46%). Only two measures, related to the approval of the new Regulation of Organisation and Functioning of Social Services Centres, remain in the planning phase.
New professional profiles for more agile care
Among the new recruits are 112 social services assistants, 64 workers for the Family Card management offices (including social workers and administrative assistants), and 40 technical coordinators. For the first time, municipal social services centres have career civil servant social educators and psychologists. Currently, 54 social educators out of the 80 planned are working, along with 27 psychologists, with the aim of reaching 40 by 2027.
Additionally, ten new positions for social integration technicians have been created to address emerging needs during the plan's development. The City Council emphasizes that the final number of professionals will exceed initial forecasts.
The new care model, unanimously approved in the municipal Plenary in 2022, aims to relieve social workers of administrative burdens so they can focus on direct social intervention and prevention. The idea is to anticipate user demands and facilitate their autonomy.
A regulation that will change the relationship with citizens
The two pending measures depend on the approval of the new Regulation of Organisation and Functioning of Social Services Centres, which will replace the one in effect since 1989. Among the innovations, users will have the freedom to choose their reference professional and the right to a second technical assessment. This will allow for more personalized care tailored to the needs of each resident.
For Madrid residents, this translates into faster and closer care. A resident of Usera or Villaverde, for example, will be able to choose their reference social worker and, if they are not satisfied, request a second technical opinion without having to navigate the previous bureaucratic maze.
The City Council expects the new regulation to be ready in the coming months, which will allow for the strategic plan to be completed with all measures executed. In the meantime, the 300 new professionals are already in their positions, assisting the families who need it most.
