The Instituto de Apoio à Criança recorded nearly 3,500 requests for assistance in 2025, a significant surge linked to an ongoing mental health crisis affecting children and young people across Portugal.
Record Assistance Requests
The IAC handled approximately 3,500 requests for help in 2025 through its national helplines.
Mental Health Crisis
The organization attributes the high volume of calls to increasing psychological distress and social vulnerabilities among minors.
Critical Support Infrastructure
The surge has put significant pressure on services like SOS Criança (116 111) and SOS Criança Desaparecida (116 000).
Portugal's Institute for Child Support recorded nearly 3,500 requests for assistance in 2025, with the surge attributed to a mental health crisis affecting children and young people. The figure reflects a significant rise in demand for the organization's services across Portugal. The IAC manages two dedicated helplines: SOS Criança, reachable at 116 111, and SOS Criança Desaparecida, reachable at 116 000. Both lines serve as primary points of contact for families and individuals seeking support for children in distress or reported missing.
3,500 (requests) — IAC assistance requests recorded in 2025
The mental health crisis among children and young people was identified as the principal driver behind the increase in calls and requests received by the IAC in 2025. The organization's helplines provide direct intervention and referral services for a range of situations, including abuse, neglect, psychological distress, and missing children cases. The scale of demand in 2025 underscores the growing pressure on child protection services in Portugal. No breakdown by type of request or age group was available in the source articles.
The IAC was founded in 1983 by Manuela Eanes, who served as Portugal's first lady at the time of the institution's establishment. The organization is recognized as a social solidarity institution and has operated national child support helplines in Portugal for decades. Web search results indicate that Manuela Eanes has held the position of IAC president for an extended period, with references to her role appearing as recently as 2019.
Manuela Eanes, who founded the IAC in 1983, remains associated with the institution's leadership according to available sources. The organization has long been described as a recognized social solidarity body in Portugal, focused on promoting and protecting children's rights. The IAC's dual helpline structure — one for general child support and one specifically for missing children — reflects the breadth of issues the institute addresses. No additional statements from IAC officials or government representatives were included in the source articles regarding the 2025 figures or planned responses to the increased demand.