Voluntary Guardianship for Unaccompanied Children in Italy: Strengths and Weaknesses of a New Model

In 2017 Italy embraced a new model for the protection of unaccompanied foreign children focused on the introduction of voluntary guardianship as the preferred choice over the appointment of a public guardian. The legal and cultural project has so far been proving to be crucial for the social inclusion of many minors, despite showing some weaknesses. Building on the experience of two and a half years of training and support of voluntary guardians, we will discuss, in this chapter, the strengths and deficiencies of the new tool and identify strategies for overcoming the critical issues encountered.