Childhood and families: grants increase to 2.5 million per project

The Regional Ministry of Social Welfare of Castilla-La Mancha has updated the regulatory bases for grants destined for services and programs for the prevention and care of children and families. Order 149/2026, of October 8, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha number 200, of October 19, 2026 (reference 2026/7395), increases the maximum amount per project from 1.7 to 2.5 million euros and incorporates new requirements for public integrity and occupational risk prevention. The regulation comes into force on October 20, one day after its publication.

The order modifies Order 150/2018, of October 10, which established the bases for these grants and was published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha number 203, of October 17, 2018. Since then, it had been amended on two occasions: by the twelfth article of Order 166/2018, of November 19 (bulletin number 229, of November 23, 2018) and by Order 201/2022, of October 18 (bulletin number 205, of October 25, 2022).

The regional Government justifies the change based on the need to adapt the regulation to current state and regional legislation and adjustments derived from management experience, just before launching a new call for applications. The program is integrated into the Strategic Grant Plan, in budget section 27-Social Welfare, objective 120 (Children and family) and line of action 383. The order was signed in Toledo on October 8, 2026, by the regional minister Bárbara García Torijano.

More money per project and up to one hundred percent of the cost

The most visible change affects the fifth base. The individualized maximum amount for each subsidized project increases from 1,700,000 to 2,500,000 euros, an increase of 800,000 euros per initiative.

Additionally, the grant may finance up to 100% of the total cost of the project, unless the entity has another source of funding, in which case the requested percentage will be subsidized.

Public integrity and occupational safety as requirements

The fourth base is amended in three sections to incorporate requirements that until now did not appear explicitly:

• Formal registration in the corresponding registries and, in any case, in the Social Services Registry of Castilla-La Mancha; a copy of the application for administrative authorization is accepted as an alternative, provided it predates the closing of the application period.
• Prohibition from being beneficiaries if the incompatibility scenarios of Law 11/2003, of September 25, apply, and from receiving services or activities from persons who, having held public office in the Junta, breached article 19.5 of said law during the two years following their cessation, pursuant to article 74.2 of the Recast Text of the Treasury Law, modified by the second final provision of Law 4/2024, of July 19, on Public Integrity of Castilla-La Mancha.
• For entities subject to occupational risk prevention regulations, to have a prevention plan and not to have been sanctioned for a very serious offense in this matter during the year prior to the application, according to article 17.1.b) of Law 10/2010, of October 21. This point complies with article 14.3 of Decree 21/2008, of February 5, following its modification by Decree 85/2025, of October 21.

Extra points for projects in depopulated areas

The eighth base incorporates two new sections that reward actions in rural areas, in application of the Agreement of the Governing Council of October 19, 2021, and Decree 108/2021, of October 19, which delimits the rural areas of the region according to article 22.1 of Law 2/2021, of May 7, modified by Law 1/2023, of January 17. To the 100 points of general assessment, the following will be added:

• An additional 20% (20 points) in areas at risk of depopulation, in municipalities of more than 2,000 inhabitants with intense depopulation, and in intermediate rural areas with agricultural predominance and fewer than 2,000 inhabitants that have lost population in the five years prior to January 1, 2021.
• An additional 30% (30 points) in municipalities of fewer than 2,000 inhabitants with intense depopulation and in those of more than 2,000 inhabitants with extreme depopulation.
• An additional 40% (40 points) in municipalities of fewer than 2,000 inhabitants classified as an area of extreme depopulation.

Projects that do not reach the minimum score of 50 points in the global assessment are excluded from this bonus.

The impact is direct for social entities throughout the region applying for the next call: they will have an economic ceiling nearly 47% higher per project, but they must first prove their registry enrollment, their compliance regarding incompatibilities, and their compliance in occupational risk prevention, in addition to competing with a scale that prioritizes territorial implementation in rural areas.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, no. 200, October 19, 2026, section I (General Provisions), pp. 36749-36751 (official reference: 2026/7395).