Emergency for children without families: there are 500 thousand in Europe and Central Asia. A law on European adoption is urgently needed

There are almost half a million minors living outside their families in reception institutions in Europe and Central Asia. What are the possible interventions to counter this situation, always with a view to the supreme interest of the minor?

According to a recent UNICEF analysis  , nearly half a million children – 456,000 – live in reception facilities, including large institutions, in Europe and Central Asia.
This is double the global average and a painful legacy to overcome.

The children most affected

The report shows that children with disabilities are most affected by this situation, while some countries have made progress in deinstitutionalization and kinship care. Western Europe, however, has the highest rate of children in reception facilities, partly due to the arrival of unaccompanied minors and asylum seekers.

A welcome based on family and community

What the report suggests is the  progressive closure of large institutions  and their  replacement with quality , family- and community-based care.
Furthermore, adequate investments are needed to prevent family separations, support families at risk and strengthen social and protection services. Finally, it calls for improving the collection of quality data on children outside the family.

The importance of a European law on adoption

These children are often exposed to risky and vulnerable situations, which can cause serious damage to their physical, mental and social health.
“It's time to decide what we want to do with the future of these minors. The consequences of this de facto abandonment – ​​declared Marco Griffini , President and Founder of  Amici dei Bambini – can be: psychological trauma, behavioral problems, educational difficulties and even risks to their health. Do we finally want to decide to take an interest in them or do we want to continue pursuing the myth of the family of origin and the law of blood ? The dramatic data declared today by UNICEF highlight that the time has come to  abandon once and for all the adult-centric culture  in which we are mired beyond the declarations of principle of the supreme  interest of the child.
It is therefore urgent - concludes the President of Ai.Bi. - a European database  of minors outside the family and everyone working together towards a European adoption , starting to remove the absurd bans on international adoption in force in Poland and Romania and with regards to 'It's time for the national database of adoptable minors to be established in Italy.'