More than 15,000 child protection cases are open at the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and Families (Senniaf), which has 334 officials to handle cases throughout the country. The figure was revealed during the presentation of the Senniaf budget to the Budget Committee of the National Assembly, where the deputies questioned the number and distribution of the staff in charge of attending to the cases of minors. The deputy of Democratic Change (CD), Carlos ‘Tito’ Afú, asked the director of Senniaf, Lilibeth Cárdenas, how many technical officials the institution needs to handle protection files.
Pictured above center is Lilibeth Cárdenas, director of Senniaf.
Cárdenas responded that he needs 150 more technicians and that the institution currently does not have the budget to incorporate them. Protection cases may require home visits, family assessments, reports, participation in hearings, and follow-up after a child is reintegrated into their family. Cárdenas assumed leadership of Senniaf last March, following a period of instability and criticism of the institution’s management. She was appointed by President José Raúl Mulino on March 6 and ratified by the National Assembly days later. Her appointment came amid prior questions about the care provided to children and adolescents under state protection.
24 Lawyers Support the Protection Processes.
The 24 lawyers from Senniaf do not limit themselves to representing the institution in the hearings, Cárdenas explained. They also participate in family reunification processes and in the preparation of reports together with social workers and psychologists. “We have more than 15,000 open cases at this time,” the director said during the presentation. The information presented to the commission did not include details on how many of those files correspond to each type of violation, nor the breakdown by province or by stage of the process in which it is found. By 2027, Senniaf requested 90 new positions to strengthen care in centers, regional offices and other units of the institution.
Cárdenas explained that the positions are intended to include technical, legal, operational, and administrative staff, and that the request was made conservatively due to economic constraints. In fact, those 90 positions do not include the 150 technical positions he said he needed, and even with them — she added — “it is not enough”, the institution could only function in a “moderate” way.
Senniaf’s Budget for 2027.
Requested Budget.
$18.9 million.
Budget recommended by the MEF.
$10.5 million.
Investment.
$1.1 million.
Operation.
$9.4 million.
Difference between what is requested and what is recommended.
$8.4 million.
During the presentation, Cárdenas answered questions from the deputies about specific cases. In response to one of these questions, he explained that the law mandates maintaining the confidentiality of information related to minors.
Chong Questions the Staff Distribution.
Congresswoman Yamirelis Chong suggested that Senniaf should review not only the need to hire more staff, but also how the current officials are being distributed. Chong pointed out that while the administrative areas have staff, the regional offices and centers that directly serve minors need specialists to follow up on cases. She requested that the new positions be concentrated in areas that have direct contact with children and adolescents and that follow up on their cases.
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