Collaborating Families: A new resource of the Protection System for minors in Andalusia (Spain).

Abstract

Aimed at boys and girls who reside in protection centers, without other family measure, the new resource of Collaborating
Families, allowing them to spend short periods of family time, is analyzed. The characteristics of the resource,
its necessity, the application of the program, regulated by the Junta de Andalucía, and the services of the collaborating
entities, especially of Crecer con Futuro (Growing With a Future), within the Andalusian child protection system are
exposed. In addition, preliminary data of the first study in Andalusia on Collaborating Families are presented. The sample
is composed of 49 families that collaborate with 53 minors in the province of Seville. The results describe the sociodemographic
profile of families and minors in collaboration, the first encounters and reactions of the children, as well as
the adaptation process and the families’ satisfaction with the resource, with implications for both research and practice.