“In November 2024, we ran a national foster care campaign,” recalled Clara Marques Mendes, Secretary of State for Social Action and Inclusion, who is being heard in parliament at the request of the PS.

The aim of the national campaign was “to create conditions for every child to have the opportunity to live in a family while their biological family recovers,” explained Clara Marques Mendes, considering that the number of foster families and children sent to these families was “residual”.

In November 2024, there were 388 certified foster families, allowing 356 children to live with these families, according to data from the Secretary of State, who also revealed that, at that time, “there were 6,143 children in foster care”.

One year after the start of the national campaign, “the number of foster families and foster children increased significantly,” she said, revealing that in November 2025, there were “520 foster families in the national pool and 462 children in foster care.”

On the other hand, the number of children in care had risen to 5,987.

"How is it that a country has had such a low level of foster care for so many years, when the law states that priority must be given to family care? How did we reach 2024 and still have such a low figure, below 5%?" asked the Secretary of State, arguing that deinstitutionalisation must be guaranteed.

Clara Marques Mendes assured that, in addition to working to increase the number of foster families, they are also continuing “to work with their families so that these children can return to their biological families”.