Senator Juan Oscar Morales, alternate majority spokesperson for the New Progressive Party (PNP) in the Puerto Rico Senate, denounced Wednesday morning that a seven-year-old boy had allegedly spent two days sleeping at a regional office of the Department of the Family in Arecibo. Morales, senator for the San Juan district, said on the program Lo de Hoy that he received a call Tuesday asking for help relocating the child, and said he is willing to present evidence, challenging the agency to deny it.
He questioned why such a situation would not count as a service deficiency and asked that the investigation being carried out by the Senate Committee on Family, Women, Elderly People and People with Functional Diversity include an analysis of how alleged agency deficiencies affect minors and other vulnerable populations, urging committee chair Senator Wanda “Wandy” Soto Tolentino to add the matter to its work. The Family Department secretary, Suzanne Roig Fuertes, responded Tuesday that after a child’s removal each case requires an individual evaluation, and that placements cannot be improvised given licensing requirements and background checks.
Through the Administration of Families and Children (ADFAN), she said, the agency works to expand caregiver availability; when placement cannot be made immediately, department units have prepared spaces offering provisional care with basic necessities, and department staff, including family services assistants and social workers, assume the children’s care. The denunciation comes amid questions about the department’s handling and hiring-process investigations involving the secretary.