These are alarming figures those illustrated by the guarantor regional for children, Claudia Giudici in the Culture commission of the Assembly of Emilia Romagna: in 2023 I am hospital admissions to child neuropsychiatry departments have increased and the number of socially withdrawn adolescents has increased. The prevalent disorder, in 33.5% of cases, is anxiety, followed by depression in 16%”.
The regional guarantor illustrated the employment numbers for 2023: “Admissions to child neuropsychiatry are growing”. In Emilia-Romagna, between 2021 and 2022, the minor population dependent on social services increased by 11.6%, while there was a 4.7% decrease in minors placed “outside the family”. According to a constant trend, hospital admissions (818 in 2022) in child neuropsychiatry departments are growing, “a critical indicator on the health status of the minor population, to be compared with other indicators and investigated further”. The report on the activity carried out in 2023 that Claudia Giudici, regional guarantor for children and adolescents, illustrated during the joint session of the Culture and Equality commissions, chaired respectively by Francesca Marchetti and Federico Amico, starts from these worrying data.
Another critical aspect on which the Guarantor focused is that on social withdrawal in adolescence. “According to the first trends emerging from the survey launched in June 2023 – explained Claudia Giudici – there are 762 reports collected by the services, with a highest peak in the 15-16 age group (38.3%) but with a significant onset starting from 12 years. In 44% of cases, the minor no longer attends school (243 are of compulsory school age), while 55% have maintained relationships with the school. A emerged pervasive digital use differentiated between males (video games) and females (social media). The prevalent disorder, in 33.5% of cases, it is anxiety, followed by depression in 16%”.
Other areas on which the Guarantor worked in 2023 were reporting and the fight against educational poverty, the promotion of participation through the Boys and Girls Assembly and the reception of unaccompanied foreign minors.
In terms of reports, 61 were processed, of which 40 were received in 2023 and 21 in 2022. It is the Guarantee Office – explained the guarantor – to collect them and from that moment an in-depth phase is activated which may involve the whistleblowers, the authorities and institutions in charge, and the social services. “In the most serious cases – Giudici recalled – the report can be sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Juvenile Court and, in relation to serious conduct by adults, also to the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court competent for the territory”. The most represented area was Bologna, with 67.5% of reports. Followed by the provinces of Piacenza and Parma (7.5%), that of Reggio-Emilia (5%) and Modena and Forlì-Cesena (2.5%), for a total of 29 minors involved.
About theAssembly of boys and girls, the guarantor highlighted how “it constitutes an important participatory moment. Established in November 2021, it is made up of around fifty young people, who come from all over the region, aged between ten and eighteen”. In 2023, there were numerous meetings of the Assembly, both in person and online. “At the center of the discussion – underlined Claudia Giudici – is the theme of places dedicated to young people. A project was started on this theme which resulted in the presentation of the manifesto ‘The spaces we want’, which contains suggestions and ideas for improving the daily spaces of girls and boys. The proposals concern the characteristics that attractive spaces should have, those for relationships with adults, scholastic, inclusive and sustainable spaces, up to digital spaces”.
The last area of activity carried out in 2023 to which the guarantor has drawn the attention of the Legislative Assembly is that ofreception of unaccompanied foreign minors. “As of December 31, 2023 – highlights Claudia Giudici – there were 1,922, 8.2% of the national total, unaccompanied foreign minors registered in Emilia-Romagna. Our region confirms itself, after Lombardy and Sicily, among the first in terms of hospitality. Of the minors welcomed, 81.2% are male and 18.8% are female. The Ukrainian nationality, with 34.6%, continues to be the most represented. Over 50% of the minors are placed in the provincial areas of Bologna (28%), Modena (14.4%) and Ravenna (10.8%). Followed in percentage terms are Reggio Emilia (9.3%), Parma (8.6%), Forlì-Cesena (8.5%), Rimini (7.5%), Piacenza (6.7%) and Ferrara (6. 2%)”. Also in 2023 – concluded the Guarantor – “the regional course for voluntary guardians for unaccompanied foreign minors was held, in which 37 people participated”.
