NPM publishes thematic report on children and young people in specialised residential care
The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), integrated within the Ombudsman’s Office, has carried out for the first time visits to the five specialised residential care units for children and young people with intensive educational and/or therapeutic needs. To mark Universal Children’s Day, which is celebrated today, the report presenting the findings of this work is being released. Although they represent only 1% of the 5,605 children and young people in care in Portugal, these cases require highly specialised responses and differentiated teams, given their complexity and particular vulnerability.
These visits formed part of the NPM’s preventive mission to monitor facilities where there is deprivation, or a significant restriction, of liberty and personal autonomy. The NPM identified, within the wider context of juvenile educational centres, an increase in the number of young people who had previously been through the child protection system, including through specialised units.
In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of this reality, fieldwork began in December 2024, covering the five units currently operating in the country, located in Lisbon, Montemor-o-Novo, Coimbra, Porto and Gondomar.
At the time of the visits, these units accommodated 61 young people aged between 12 and 25, the majority of whom were female. The observations focused on three areas: the profile of the population in care; the safeguarding of children’s and young people’s rights (including access to healthcare, education, privacy and participation); and the material conditions, human resources and organisation of the units.
The report identifies several weaknesses in the provision of care for children and young people with intensive therapeutic needs, particularly the coexistence within the same units of very different profiles, as well as difficulties in accessing hospital admissions. One of the central conclusions is that these shortcomings result mainly from systemic failures external to the units, and not from the work of the teams, which were observed to be competent and dedicated.
Reaffirming that residential care should always be a measure of last resort, the report presents 19 strategic recommendations aimed at strengthening coordination between the child protection and juvenile justice systems, as well as ensuring truly integrated responses across the fields of Social Security, Health, Justice and Education.
The findings are released in a context of reorganisation of the residential care system, marked by the entry into force of Decree-Law No. 39/2025, which redefines the concept of residential care homes and creates specific units for cases of profound disability, severe chronic illness or psychiatric disorders, thereby promoting greater cooperation among various public sectors.
You may access the full report here [in Portuguese only].
The Ombudsman will hold a new edition of the “Meetings at the Ombudsman’s Office” on 28 November, under the theme “Care, Protect, Empower: challenges of residential care for children and young people”, based on the report now published. The event will feature the participation of the Vice-President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Justice Graça Amaral, and Child Psychiatrist Pedro Strecht. It will take place at the Palácio Vilalva, in Lisbon, from 10:00, with free admission subject to prior registration, which you may access here.
