According to the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Margarida Balseiro Lopeswhich is being heard this Tuesday (4) about the State Budget for 2026 In the parliamentary committees on Culture, Youth and Sports, and on Budget, Finance and Public Administration, psychologist and nutritionist checks will be increased by 350 million euros.
Balseiro Lopes said that he intends to simplify the allocation of chequeswhich generated the booking of “around 30 thousand appointments”, “guaranteeing more direct access, with less bureaucracy and greater speed”.
For the measures to work, he points out, a long-term strategy is necessary, which is why he will present the National Youth Agenda, “a strategic document constructed from a very broad consultation with thousands of young peopleassociations, local authorities and which will begin implementation in 2026”.
According to the government official, this document will be “based on strategic axes, operational objectives and concrete measures” and “will guide public youth policies in Portugal giving them greater coherence, effectiveness and impact and mobilizing the whole of society in a lasting commitment to the new generations”.
“Also included in the Agenda is the review of the Law on Young Associationswith the aim of simplifying processes, removing obstacles and opening the way to new forms of participation. We want associations that are more accessible, less bureaucratic and closer to young people”, he argued.
Psychologist and nutritionist checks will become part of the Cuida-te program
Checks should also be integrated into the program Take care of yourselfwhich promotes mental health and good eating practices among young people aged 12 to 30. “Our objective is to improve a measure that is a good measure, but which clearly has some implementation problems. We are going to transfer both measures to Cuida-te”, revealed the minister, justifying the option with the desire to “empower, value and enrich Cuida-te”.
Margarida Balseiro Lopes also recalled that this program is “being a success”, pointing out that when she took office as minister, in the previous legislature, Cuida-te had “between 10 and 11 professionals allocated”, arguing that the program, created by the Socialist Party, “is a good measure” that was “poorly executed”.
“At the moment there are 111 professionals. There are 27 senior psychologists, 30 trainee psychologists, 21 nutritionists, 25 nurses, a child psychiatrist, a social service person, a psychosocial care technician, and 5 psychologist coordinators who coordinate the network of psychologists, in addition to the mobile units that are also fully operational”, revealed the minister.
“In parallel, we will continue to expand the Cuida-te program, a program that has been essential in supporting young people, guaranteeing more than 6 thousand services in the first months of the year in various regions of the country and ensuring proximity responses when they are most needed”, said the holder of the Youth portfolio.