The latest migration Decree, already approved by the Italian Council of Ministers is intended, says Marina Terragni, Italy's Guarantor Authority for Infancy and Adolescence (AGIA), to "introduce a new organic reform aimed at strengthening measures to contrast illegal migration." However, even when the decree has fully entered into law, it will not affect unaccompanied minors in the same way, promised Terragni.

"As far as unaccompanied minors in particular are concerned -- 17,000 according to the latest available data, comprising mostly males nine times out of ten, ages 16-17 in eight cases out of ten -- the new norms should not substantially impact the so-called "administrative continuation" that safeguards the continuity of support and protection for unaccompanied foreign minors (MNSA) who are more vulnerable," stated Terragni recently.

This 'administrative continuation' or proieguo amministrativo as it is known in Italian is a law allowing for minors who had been supported by the Italian authorities to continue receiving that support for certain reasons after they turn 18. This can be because they are still in full-time education for instance, or attending a training program.

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Administrative continuation and repatriation competency

It seems that the new law in substance reduces the support time allotted. So, it will now end when a migrant turns 19, instead of when they turn 21, as previously possible, observed Terragni.

Although that is a significant reduction, Terragni explained that she believes the law is intended to encourage the social services to produce the documents more quickly in order to provide evidence for why the young person might need extended support.

Terragni said that there were an "increasing number of vulnerable cases [in Italy]." She added that because of the change in the composition of the young migrant population, she believed and "application for administrative continuation can have a really positive effect only if the person is accompanied by integrated support offered by multidisciplinary teams from the local entities, aimed at responding to specific vulnerabilities of the youngsters, more than temporal ones tied to the continuation."

Another possible change under the new decree, Terragni noted is a possible transfer of competency regarding assisted repatriation of the unaccompanied foreign minors from the Youth Courts directly to Italian prefects. This, pointed out Terragni would essentially mean the competency for this case would be transferred from a judicial sector to an administrative one.

Although Terragni said the transfers themselves could be problematic, she believed that since it is not possible to force a repatriation of a minor, the cases would remain on a voluntary basis only. She added that the prefects would need a 'favorable opinion' issued by the Youth Court for the prefect to be able to issue the transfer anyway, and so she didn't believe the process would change much substantially.

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Working on the shelter system, even with European funds

"The real focus," believes Terragni, "is and will continue to be the issue of the shelter system for unaccompanied foreign minors."

Terragni said she and her team at AGIA continue to work "assiduously with continuity" on this issue. AGIA, said Terragni, is working on two projects with EU funding from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) to try and offer additional protection for young people and a better shelter system. To that end, explained Terragni, AGIA was strengthening the capacity and experience of local entitities working with young people in order to promote and accompany foster care offered to migrant minors.

"The true change" that AGIA can make, believes Terragni, is therefore to "work on a significant increase of the share of foster care families, which at present is stuck at four percent, a solution that with all evidence is and remains the most efficient tool to ensure young people's integration and inclusion in our society."

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