At 55, María José Valero is both a biological and foster mother: “My goal has never been for the baby we foster to stay with me, but to leave happy, secure and full of love”
Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
Interview
Named sources
Context piece
- María José Valero, 55, describes how she and her family became an emergency foster family after years of volunteering with children.
- She is caring for a baby while the authorities assess the child’s family circumstances, alongside her 21-year-old biological daughter.
- Spain has about 20,000 children in residential care, while the number of foster families has fallen by almost 32% in recent years.
When María José Valero first heard about foster care, she immediately felt she had found her path. The idea came unexpectedly while she was combining work at a supermarket with running her own sustainable fashion store. She had already volunteered and worked as a lunchroom monitor, and says she had always felt a strong connection with children.
Now 55, Valero divides her time between her biological daughter, Edith, who is 21, and a baby placed with her family under an emergency foster-care arrangement. The model provides a home for children while authorities examine the circumstances of their families of origin.
My goal has never been for the baby we foster to stay with me, but to leave happy, secure and full of love.
The need remains substantial. Spain's Ministry of Youth and Children says 20,000 boys and girls are growing up in residential care, including 1,242 children aged between zero and six. At the same time, the number of foster families has fallen by nearly 32 percent compared with previous years.
At last I had found my path.
In Catalonia, 883 foster families were registered across the region in July 2026. Ninety-two were emergency and assessment families, according to figures provided to La Vanguardia by the Department of Social Rights and Inclusion. The figures show positive progress, the article says, but more families are still needed.
Valero says her cousin, a social educator, suggested that she consider emergency fostering because so many families were needed. “At last I had found my path,” Valero recalls thinking. Her husband, Juan Carlos, supported the decision, and their daughter responded with a smile and asked, “When is the baby coming?” Valero says her goal is not to keep the child permanently, but to help the baby leave happy, secure and full of love.
When is the baby coming?
About this summary
Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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