Original article: Gobierno dice que la infancia es “prioridad”, pero siete programas pierden $34 mil millones en el Presupuesto 2027
Minister of Social Development, María Jesús Wulf, stated that childhood is one of the government’s «priorities,» while President José Antonio Kast highlighted a national investment of $2.5 trillion, marking a 4.1% increase compared to 2025. Despite this rhetoric, the 2027 Budget submitted to Congress includes cuts amounting to $34.451 million across seven programs within the Ministry of Social Development and Family that benefit the nation’s youngest.
CIPER analyzed the 2027 budget allocation for the ministry and compared it to the 2026 Budget, focusing on the most significant changes. The review revealed reductions in funding lines for direct support for vulnerable children, adoption, and newborns, right at a moment when the government claims this group is a priority.
The most significant impact was felt by Alternative Care, which saw a reduction of $16.879 million. This program supports «children and teenagers who have been severely traumatized in their rights and separated from their families by a Family Court order,» and it has received favorable evaluations. The funding decreased from $177 billion in 2026 to $160 billion in 2027, representing a drop of 10%.
According to the Specialized Child and Adolescent Protection Service, about 11% of the children and teenagers in their care are in Alternative Care.
The Ministry of Social Development responded to CIPER by stating that the cuts are «reallocations, changes in program offerings, improvements in efficiency, and adjustments to execution levels and current needs, and should not be interpreted automatically as a decrease in protection or benefits for people.«
Regarding Alternative Care, the ministry emphasized that the funding reduction «does not imply a decrease in the availability of placements for children and teenagers» and that it supports the Grow in Family initiative, aimed at reducing institutionalization for children aged 0 to 3 and strengthening foster families.
Next in line for funding cuts is Specialized Clinical Diagnosis and Expert Evaluation, with a reduction of $14.271 million. This program provides a «thorough, comprehensive, and personalized» assessment for each child entering the Specialized Protection Service and benefits 84,827 minors, but was criticized for lacking clear prioritization criteria.
The ministry claimed that «the [budgetary] proposal includes a strengthening of diagnostic capacity within other lines of intervention, specifically to respond to existing demand and reduce waiting times.»
The Support Program for Newborns, which provides layettes in public hospitals, lost $1.394 million. The rationale for this cut was based on a decline in birth rates. According to Dipres, there were 70,336 births in the first half of 2024, a decrease of 22.9%, and the coverage fell from 92% in 2023 to 87% in 2024.
The Family Self-Sufficiency Support Program also faced a reduction of $1.119 million, despite receiving positive evaluations.
Regarding the cut to this initiative aimed at providing healthy food for vulnerable families under Chile Solidario, the ministry argued that «observed difficulties in execution timelines, particularly relevant for interventions subject to production cycles and seasonal factors» necessitated improvements in the timing of interventions and clearer delineation of the program’s scope concerning INDAP’s offerings.
According to CIPER, the Solidarity Communities program also faced cuts of $550 million, which provides food kits to poor households, including those sheltering vulnerable children, and Adoption with a $514 million cut, which prepares adoptive parents and ensures that children grow up in a suitable family.
«A significant portion of the functions previously carried out by private institutions is now legally based within the National Specialized Protection Service… some of the costs associated with these functions are no longer reflected as programmatic expenses within this area,” stated the Ministry of Social Development.
The Educational Program for mothers and fathers from gestation to 4 years also faced budget cuts. Although it received favorable recommendations in 2022, monitoring by Dipres in 2025 showed under-execution. The ministry explained that the budget reduction was due to «improvements in the efficiency of resource use in the program, and the funds for the year 2027 will allow for continuity of the programmatic offering without a decrease in coverage.«
In contrast, the 2027 Budget increases by $74.100 million for three childhood programs: Outpatient Repair Interventions (+$54.034 million), Strengthening and Linking (+$13.426 million), and the Childhood Development Support Interventions Fund (+$6.643 million), primarily executed by private collaborator organizations or municipalities.
Thus, while childhood is proclaimed a priority, seven key programs lose $34.451 million in the 2027 Budget as directed by La Moneda.
