Asylum-seeking children in Spain: Needs and intervention models

The arrival of numerous unaccompanied asylum seeker children (UASC) over the past 20 years has been a challenge for the child welfare system in Spain. Child care resources and professionals have made a big effort to adapt services and procedures to the specific needs of these adolescents. This paper aims to describe the characteristics and needs of the UASC welcomed in Spain, and the intervention process carried out, in comparison with other countries. The documents published in each territory were examined, and individual interviews (n = 42) and group interviews (n = 8) were conducted with adolescents and professionals (n = 68) in 9 territories. The similarities and differences in each of the phases of care, as well as the specific needs of these adolescents in education, health, housing, transition to adulthood and social support, are described. There are significant differences in the model of intervention in each region, and in the creation of programs and services to assist these adolescents with adaptation to the host country. Further support for the transition to adulthood and attention to their emotional distress should be included in service provision. (C) 2015 Colegio Oficial de Psicologos de Madrid. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).