Priego de Córdoba approves the regulation to declare the risk of minors

The City Council of Priego de Córdoba has finalized the Regulation of the Procedure for the Declaration of Risk Situation for Minors, which comes into effect upon its full publication in the Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba on September 25, 2026 (reference BOP-A-2026-3198, file 2018/14222). The initial agreement was adopted by the Plenary of the Corporation in the session of March 27, 2025 and, following its public exhibition on the Municipal Notice Board and in the provincial gazette on September 19, 2025, no objections were filed. The announcement is signed in Priego de Córdoba, on September 18, 2026, by the mayor Juan Ramón Valdivia Rosa.

The regulation develops the state and regional framework for child protection within the municipal scope: Article 39 of the Spanish Constitution, Organic Law 1/1996, of January 15, on the Legal Protection of Minors, Organic Law 8/2021, of June 4, on the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents against Violence, Law 26/2015, of July 28, and Law 4/2021, of July 27, on Childhood and Adolescence of Andalusia, whose Article 23 attributes to local entities the prevention, detection, assessment, intervention, and formalization of the declaration of risk situation. Law 39/2015 and Law 40/2015 apply supplementarily.

A collegiate body to decide

The declaration of risk shall correspond to the City Council of Priego de Córdoba – Social Services through a reasoned administrative resolution. The regulation creates a collegiate body composed of:

• The mayor of Priego de Córdoba or, by delegation, the councillor for Social Services, who presides.
• The director of the Municipal Social Services or the professional to whom they delegate.
• A technician from the Family Treatment Team of the Municipal Social Services.
• A technician from the Municipal Social Services of Priego de Córdoba.
• An official of the City Council of Priego de Córdoba as secretary, with a voice but no vote.

Its functions are to initiate the procedure, propose the risk resolution, propose the referral of the file to the public entity, its extension or termination, the archiving, the inclusion of measures in the family intervention project, and the cessation of the procedure. Agreements are adopted by a majority of those present and, in the event of a tie, the presiding officer’s casting vote decides.

Deadlines and guarantees of the procedure

The file is initiated by a justified proposal from the Municipal Social Services to the collegiate body, accompanied by a complete report of the intervention process and a family intervention plan. The instructing officer, who is not part of the collegiate body, grants a prior hearing to the parents, guardians, custodians, or foster parents, and to the minor if they have sufficient judgment or have reached 12 years of age, with a period of 10 days to make allegations and provide documents. The instructor may request reports from education, health, and security forces and bodies, and submits their proposal within a maximum of three months.

The resolution may declare a situation of risk, agree to the archiving of the case, declare the cessation or expiration of the procedure, and is notified to the parents or responsible parties, to the minor with sufficient judgment or over 12 years of age, to the Territorial Delegation of the Junta de Andalucía with competencies in childhood, and to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The maximum period to resolve and notify is six months from the initiation resolution; if this period passes without express notification, the procedure expires.

Risk indicators and family intervention project

The regulation lists the risk indicators, including the lack of physical or psychological attention, negligence in care and lack of medical follow-up, the existence of a sibling declared at risk or abandoned, disproportionate punishment, the negative evolution of intervention programs, discriminatory practices based on gender, age, or disability, the non-acceptance of sexual orientation or gender identity, the risk of female genital mutilation or forced marriage, the identification of mothers as victims of trafficking, gender-based violence, recurrent hospital admissions without diagnosis, and the habitual consumption of drugs or alcohol.

The measures are executed through a Family Intervention Project by the Municipal Social Services with a maximum duration of twelve months, extendable for up to six more months; a mandatory assessment is carried out at eleven months. The file ends by a resolution of abandonment or guardianship by the regional administration, by the minor reaching the age of majority, by a change of municipality of residence, by the fulfillment of the project objectives, or by other motivated supervening circumstances.

Entry into force and appeals

The final provision establishes that the regulation enters into force once the period set forth in Article 65.2 of the LRBRL has elapsed—15 business days from the receipt by the State Administration and the Autonomous Community of the communication of the agreement and the text—and following its full publication in the Official Provincial Gazette. An administrative appeal may be filed against the elevation to definitive status within two months from the day following the publication of the announcement; appeals against resolutions regarding risk may be filed before the Courts of First Instance of Priego de Córdoba in accordance with Article 780 of the Civil Procedure Law, within two months of notification.

The entry into force of the regulation provides the municipality with a regulated procedure and certain deadlines to detect and intervene in risk situations, with mandatory hearings for families and minors aged 12 and over. It directly affects the Municipal Social Services, the families of Priego de Córdoba, and education, health, and security professionals who must notify the established indicators.

Source: Official Provincial Gazette of Córdoba, issue corresponding to September 25, 2026, section VI - Local Administration, City Council of Priego de Córdoba (official reference: BOP-A-2026-3198).