Introduction
In European countries, the phenomenon of unaccompanied minors (UAMS) has assumed an increasing quantitative consistency in recent years. In Italy, the policy of reception of these children has been defined as a “young” policy, which is being defined at the very moment in which the phenomenon is revealed. Moreover, it is an occurrence that changes incessantly, shifting extents and features, within a framework of EU policies that in turn affect the national arrangements.
In such a fluctuating and unstable picture, there are many aspects that require specific considerations. So much so that the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission on the reception, identification and expulsion system, deemed it appropriate to fix the state of the art in a document with respect to the condition of UAMS in Italy, with the aim of understanding what has been done, what it would be useful to do and how it could be done, in order to better respond to this emergency.
In this chapter, we will first provide a picture of the presences and characteristics of the UAMS present in the EU countries, and in particular in Italy, to then illustrate the main innovations introduced by law 47, approved on 7 April 2017. Subsequently, some initiatives ‒ aimed at the reception and integration of UAMS ‒ will be presented; specifically, those considered ground-breaking in the current national scene.
