Madrid – Spain

The Council of Family, Youth and Social Affairs (CFJAS) is the senior body of the Administration of the Community of Madrid, responsible for the development, implementation and oversight of the Government’s public policies in the following areas: Social Services and the integration of vulnerable populations; Childhood, Family and Promotion of Birth Rates; Gender Perspective; Care for Persons with Disabilities; Care for the Elderly; and Youth. Within the framework of the Cocaptain project, the Department of Family, Youth and Social Affairs participates through the Directorate-General for Social Services and Integration (DGSSI), which is entrusted with the responsibility for initiatives of the Community of Madrid aimed at improving the integration of people in vulnerable situations, either individually or within their families. Its functions include the promotion of social services policies targeting groups at risk of social exclusion (such as homeless persons, immigrants, ethnic minorities, among others), as well as the planning, management, implementation and evaluation of such policies, in coordination with local authorities and social organizations. The DGSSI also exercises competences in the fields of social innovation, volunteering, development cooperation and immigration.

For the implementation of the project, use will be made of the Social Care Network for People with Severe and Long-Term Mental Illness, attached to the Council of Family, Youth and Social Affairs and considered one of the most important public networks in Spain in this field. This Network offers more than 7,000 places and provides free social care to adults between 18 and 65 years of age with psychosocial disabilities and integration difficulties derived from severe mental disorders. The Network is composed of 29 Psychosocial Rehabilitation Centers, 33 Social Support Day Centers, 29 Residential Centers, 29 Labour Rehabilitation Centers, Supervised Housing, and Supported Boarding Houses. The centers and services of the Network are specialized resources designed to ensure that persons with mental illness can achieve the highest possible level of personal autonomy and social participation. In addition, the Network provides complementary services, such as Community Social Support Teams, which deliver social care directly at the homes of individuals with greater social difficulties, with the objective of improving their quality of life, facilitating their continued residence in the community, and strengthening their connection with the care network. Specific programmed and resources are also developed to support homeless persons with severe mental illness. The centers and services of this Network are territorially organized and work in close coordination and complementarity with the Mental Health Services, which are responsible for the treatment, care and clinical follow-up of persons with severe and long-term mental illness. Finally, in order to foster integration, the Social Care Network for People with Severe and Long-Term Mental Illness also cooperates closely with the General Social Services and other community resources in each area.

• Psychosocial Rehabilitation Centers (PRCs): specialized social and healthcare facilities aimed at supporting people with severe mental illness in their recovery process, community integration, and improvement of personal and social autonomy.
• Labor Rehabilitation Centers (LRCs): facilities designed to promote recovery and labor integration of users, supporting them in developing the skills, abilities, and competencies necessary to access, maintain, and perform a job under suitable conditions.
• Residential Facilities of the Network: residential and care resources aimed at people with severe and long-term mental health conditions who, due to the intensity of their psychosocial and autonomy difficulties, cannot live independently or lack sufficient family and community support.