The Catalan government is launching a €30 million initiative to identify and support eligible families in the region’s most deprived neighborhoods who are not receiving social benefits. The program is set to begin in September and targets households with children who have fallen through the cracks of the welfare system, often because of a lack of information or bureaucratic hurdles.
Information from information obtained by EL PAÍS, the project, called Barris per Créixer, will focus on neighborhoods in 20 to 30 municipalities selected using the Territorial Socioeconomic Index (IST) from the Catalan Institute of Statistics (Idescat). The final list of participating areas is still being finalized, though priority municipalities have already been identified. The Department of Social Rights and Inclusion expects to bring around 20,000 new beneficiaries into the social assistance system over the next three years.
The IST is a comparative measure benchmarked against Catalonia at 100. Idescat presents it alongside population and employment statistics in its municipal data. Used locally, it can distinguish concentrations of socioeconomic disadvantage that municipality-wide averages may conceal. In provisional 2024 data, for example, Alcarràs recorded an IST of 77.8, compared with 89.4 for its comarca and 100 for Catalonia. These figures illustrate the index’s regional scale; the program’s targeting also draws on census groupings.
Idescat data from 2023 shows that Catalonia has 110 census groupings, territorial units with 5,000 to 20,000 residents, whose socioeconomic index is more than 20 points below the regional average. They are spread across 44 municipalities. In Catalonia, 490,900 children and adolescents, or 36.5% of the total, are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, according to the Generalitat. The government believes many families remain invisible to social services and do not know what support is available.
One of the basic challenges, highlighted by Social Rights Minister Mònica Martínez Bravo, is the so-called “non-take-up” phenomenon, in which eligible individuals do not claim benefits. Department estimates suggest that 25 to 30% of those entitled to the guaranteed citizenship income do not receive it, while 67% of potential minimum critical income recipients are also missing out. The share reaches 79% among those eligible for the child support supplement.
The new program will deploy 231 professionals to work alongside municipal social services. Once identified, families will get help navigating applications for benefits such as the guaranteed citizenship income (RGC) and the minimum critical income (IMV), along with referrals to public resources such as mental health and child support services. The government says these benefits have no budgetary limits: both the state-funded IMV and the RGC are recognized as subjective rights for those who qualify.
Formal approval of the program by the Consell Executiu and recruitment of implementation teams are expected in the coming months. The Generalitat will also negotiate with participating municipalities and settle operational details. Social services are expected to be the basic entry point for beneficiaries, though other referral methods may be used. The program’s effectiveness will be measured by the number of new beneficiaries and changes in child well-being and families’ sense of economic security. Educational outcomes will also be tracked. If successful, the government plans to expand the initiative beyond 2029.
Catalonia has one of the highest child poverty rates in Spain, with nearly four out of ten minors at risk of exclusion. The guaranteed citizenship income (RGC) and minimum critical income (IMV) are basic tools in the fight against poverty, but complex procedures and limited awareness have held back their reach. The Barris per Créixer program aims to close this gap by proactively seeking out people the system has left behind.
