Models and innovative practices for welcoming and safeguarding unaccompanied migrant minors

The number of unaccompanied minors (Uams) arriving in Italy, and in all parts of Europe, has been rising significantly in the last few years, and constitutes a particular phenomenon that has demanded considerable re-organization of the welcoming system and, more generally, the welfare system. The organization of a dedicated welcoming system was established over a certain period of time, through an approach of adaptation and experimentation. The first interventions were characterized by a continuous state of emergency, which prevented effective activation of programmed action. This critical situation still exists in certain Regions up to the present day. Despite the recent development of a national welcoming model, there are still significant differences in their application in local contexts, from which there emerges an overall picture of rather fragmentary and fluctuating interventions that depend on local variations as regards both access to resources and Regional social policies. Ever since this phenomenon started to grow, the functions of protecting and safeguarding minors on the part of the Italian state have been integrated with numerous organizations working in the field of safeguard of minors and immigrants; these have given their contribution to tackling emergency situations and the growing problems of taking charge of the Uams.