Santa Cruz Integrates IMAS to Streamline Social Care

Forty years ago, the Santa Cruz City Council established the Municipal Institute of Social Care (IMAS) as an independent body. Its mission was to plan and provide support for the most vulnerable people in the municipality. Over the past decade, however, IMAS has grown significantly, both in the number of people it helps and the resources it manages. This growth has led to its budget tripling, and it's expected to reach over 32 million euros by 2025.

Because of this, the City Council has now decided to bring IMAS directly into its own structure. From January 1st, IMAS will no longer be a separate body; instead, it will become a dedicated city council department. The goal is to streamline and improve care for the capital's most vulnerable residents.

This change, which is being presented to the city council today, aims to simplify management, boost administrative efficiency, and ensure that more public funds directly reach the people who use social services.

While IMAS has seen steady growth in recent years and has modernized its technology with tools like electronic files, a single social record, automated processes, and strategic planning, its independent structure has created issues. According to city technical reports, it leads to duplicated administration, accounting problems, and slower procedures. This makes it harder for IMAS to coordinate with other city departments and slows down overall management.

Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez stated yesterday that this decision is not a sudden one, nor is it driven by temporary or political reasons. Instead, he said, it's the result of a thorough technical, legal, and organizational review. He explained that IMAS and the City Council already work closely, so this step simply aims to eliminate duplicate structures that create extra administrative work without adding real value.

The Mayor emphasized that public funds must reach people faster, more effectively, and with less bureaucracy, which he called the core objective of every euro invested in social policy. He believes that integrating IMAS into the main city structure will optimize the use of public resources and boost transparency. This will lead to simpler procedures, unified teams, and social services being centralized alongside other key areas such as Equality, Youth, Education, and Housing.

Charín González, the Councilor for Social Welfare, reassured the public that they will not notice any reduction in services. She stated, "No services will be lost, no resources reduced, and no contracts will disappear, as staff will retain their rights and conditions. Furthermore, programs will continue to be developed normally."

The councilor affirmed that "this integration will ensure that every public euro translates into more help, more support, and more solutions for those who need it. It will strengthen social policies to improve care for the most vulnerable, accelerate procedures, and provide more agile and accessible attention."