How accountable are decisions about terminating parental rights to ensure an adoption from care? In this paper we examine if the proceedings in eight European jurisdictions are accountable to: a) the private parties, i.e. individuals that are concerned – such as parents, child; b) the general public that authorized the politicians and the government to make legislation; and c) the elected government, i.e. the legislators and the system that have granted the court, court-like or administrative body the authority to make these decisions. Our data material consists of national legislation, organizational guidelines (courts, child protection, or supervisory agencies), statistics and expert knowledge. The conclusions of our analysis are discouraging. There is only limited accountability for one of the most intrusive interventions by a state into the private lives of individuals. There is a lack of information about the proceedings as well as a lack of transparency. We identify systems that, with few exceptions, operate in isolation, with only a few outsiders having access or knowledge about what is going on. We cannot in this study say anything about the decision-making quality in these proceedings, they may be excellent, but the problem is that very few external actors are in a position to examine the quality of the decisions. This missing connection between the wider democratic society and this part of the legal systems in the eight democracies we studied is of huge concern, and we have indications that the situation is equally concerning in other European states.

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This chapter expounds on the child protection systems in Spain. It cites the range of international, national, and regional legislations impacting the Spanish child protection system. The social protection system for minors aims to protect the rights of children and adolescents, guarantee their well-being, families, safe environment, and belonging. Regardless of the parties involved, the measures will be catered to the minor’s best interests. The chapter notes how there is still a long way to go in addressing the violence against minors, unaccompanied foreign minors and child poverty, despite Spain being family-oriented. It notes the models of support intervention in child protection such as theories of attachment, child needs, ecological-systematic model, empowerment and protection factors.

This study aims to analyze the habits and attitudes of young people in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically regarding leisure and free time, framed within a context of the objective structural indicators of the economy, employment, and health. To this end, we reviewed official data banks and surveys conducted in Spain on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population. We performed a descriptive and longitudinal analysis with the aim of amalgamating the data on the general behavior of Spanish youth in terms of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mental health and their positioning on the issues most important to them, especially in regard to their social relationships and leisure activities. Based on the results, we found evidence that young people were negatively affected by the impact of the pandemic, and, similarly to other age groups, reported high levels of concern about the demise of many of the aspects of their prepandemic lifestyles. Although their concerns mainly focused on leisure activities and social relationships, young people are the population group that suffered the highest anxiety levels during the pandemic. In relation to this, we highlight how the emergency measures adopted by society to fight against the spread of the virus were precisely aimed at restricting social relationships and leisure activities.

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