There are 20,032 unaccompanied foreign minors in Italy, an almost tripled number compared to 7,080 in 2020, which is putting the reception system in difficulty.
The increase is only partly due to the 5,000 Ukrainian minors who entered Italy after the Russian invasion of 24 February and who are almost always hosted by relatives and friends. The phenomenon is much broader. Even excluding the Ukrainians, foreign children who arrived without their parents increased by 22% compared to December 2021 and doubled compared to December 2020. As many as 4,756 arrived between July and November 2022: the sharp increase is also linked to the economic crisis it has invested Egypt and Tunisia, where the largest number of young people come from. A delicate situation, because they are minors alone who run the risk of being recruited by the underworld or becoming victims of violence.
From the reports of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies it emerges that the increase in recent months has had an impact above all on some regions such as Sicily, which rose from 2,742 minors welcomed on 30 June 2022 to 4,021 on 30 November or Calabria, where numbers have more than doubled (from 1,024 to 2,351).
Resources
Both to cope with the increase in arrivals and the increase in costs caused by high energy prices, the Ministry of the Interior has established that from 1 January 2023 the contribution recognized to Municipalities for assistance to unaccompanied foreign minors will rise up to 100 euros each, per day. The Viminale thus responded to the requests of local administrators, also having difficulty finding the necessary posts. The contribution, however, had already risen in July from 45 to 60 euros per minor (circular 16153 of 19 May 2022). The National Fund for the Reception of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors has 138 million available for 2022, 118 million for 2023 and 166 for 2024. For unaccompanied minors from Ukraine, Decree Law 21/2022 then increased the endowment of the Fund for national emergencies is 58.6 million.
The shortage of places
The critical issues do not only concern the funds, but also the available structures, especially those for initial reception. The government centers envisaged by Legislative Decree 142/2015 – where in addition to ascertaining the age of the minor, his psychophysical situation is examined – have never taken off: as of last June 30, only six projects financed by Fami (Fondo asylum migration and integration ), five in Sicily and one in Molise, for 275 places. Moreover, these structures have only been extended until 31 December last year. On 4 August 2022, the Ministry of the Interior issued a tender to activate a thousand posts on a regional basis, always to be financed with Fami resources. The evaluation of the projects is in progress.