In the Spanish legal system, foster care and adoption constitute exceptional and subsidiary protective measures whose regulatory framework is profoundly influenced by the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. This international treaty, ratified by Spain in 1990, has served as an essential interpretive reference point in the evolution of family law and the child protection system, enshrining principles such as the best interests of the child, the child's right to be heard, and the progressive recognition of their autonomy. These principles have guided the redefinition of the institutions of foster care and adoption, shifting from welfare-based approaches to a rights-based one.

From this perspective, Spanish law has established foster care as a priority measure over institutionalization, designed to guarantee the child's right to grow up in a family environment when they cannot remain with their birth family. Civil and administrative regulations have incorporated international standards regarding the duration, periodic review, and suitability of the measure, as well as the child's participation based on their age and maturity. Furthermore, the regulations governing foster care reflect the requirement, derived from the Convention, to adopt solutions that respect the child's identity, personal relationships, and holistic development.

For its part, adoption is established in the Spanish legal system as a definitive protective measure, aimed at providing a child with a stable family when family reunification is not possible. Its regulations expressly incorporate the principles of subsidiarity and the guarantee of the best interests of the child, both nationally and internationally, as well as the need for rigorous public oversight of the assessment, suitability declaration, and follow-up procedures. Taken together, foster care and adoption, interpreted in light of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, demonstrate the consolidation in Spanish law of a protection model centered on the child as a full subject of rights.

Taught by: Dr. Isaac Ravetllat Ballesté. Macethird degree in Family and Childhood Law. Postgraduate degree in Catalan Civil Law from the University of Barcelona. Professor Associated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tarapacá (Chile). Coordinator of the Observatory of the Rights of Children and Adolescents (OD-NNA) of the University of Tarapacá (Arica campus).

Organized by: Chair of Childhood and Adolescence at the University of La Laguna, Research Group "Law, Person and Family"«

Collaborate: Master's Degree in Family, Social and Community Intervention and Mediation from the University of La Laguna and the Network of Universities for Children and Adolescents

No certificates of attendance will be issued. More information: catedrainfancia@ull.es