Monitoring children outside the family

In 2004, the National Centre launched activities to promote social policies aimed at supporting the family, which provide – as set out in Law 149/2001 – for the implementation of forms of assistance to ensure that the minor stays with their family of origin. Following on from this, the Centre launched and developed quantitative monitoring of the forms of care minors receive outside their family of origin. The findings and subsequent updates can be found in the attached files. Working together with Regions and Autonomous Provinces, the National Centre developed a data collection questionnaire in spring 2008, establishing a minimum set of quantitative and qualitative information on children and adolescents living outside the family in foster care (with individuals, families and relatives) or in residential facilities in their region. Completed questionnaires with updated information from the Regions and Autonomous Provinces will be collected on an annual basis, and this continuous flow of the monitoring information will make it possible to detect any changes in the dimensions of care and its distinctive features. The results from the 2008 monitoring are available in Quaderno 48 - Accogliere bambini, biografie, storie e famiglie (Notebook 48 - Welcoming children, biographies, stories and families), which contains the preparatory work for the report on the progress of the implementation of Law 149/2001.