Italy

This chapter aims to outline the current state of leaving care in Italy, highlighting the belated albeit overt and sudden public recognition it has received from national institutions. The chapter shows how different types of inputs – advocacy, for instance – interconnect, resulting in the unfolding of a credible and participatory narrative related to this phenomenon, also contributed to by care leavers themselves. In a country struggling to promote children’s participation, the domain of leaving care actually seems to change this trend: a crucial role in this process was played by an association of care leavers, whose actions in turn have raised the visibility of this group of young people and resulted in the introduction of Italy’s first national care leaving policy. Despite the many achievements and steps forward over the past decade, several challenges still need to be faced in order to optimise and improve the effectiveness of actions and policies. Examples are: consolidating and expanding the national intervention scheme for care leavers; increasing the awareness, promotion and use of good practices throughout the country; and encouraging a targeted investment in participatory research processes.