Palazzo Madama

Final Senate approval of the Foster Care Bill: the right of children to live in their own families guaranteed

Among the novelties is a national register of foster families, public and national care institutions and communities, which will report to the Department of Family Policies

by Letizia Giostra

11 March 2026

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Approval was by a show of hands. Now the bill on the protection of foster children has been definitively approved. Among the opposition, the Italia viva, Avs, M5s and PD groups threatened to abstain.

The bill wanted by the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, and the Minister for the Family, Eugenia Roccella, introduces a national register of foster families, public and national care institutions and communities. The National Observatory is also confirmed.

The 'family in the woods' comes to the Senate

In the meantime, the centre-right takes action on a new bill on child custody, presenting it to the Senate taking into account the case on the so-called 'family in the woods'.

"There are more than twenty thousand Italian minors removed from their families, mostly placed in educational communities or foster homes. The affair of the so-called 'children in the woods' has aroused great interest, but it is only the best known case of a complex and widespread phenomenon". This was stated by the majority group leaders in the Senate, Lucio Malan (Fdi), Massimiliano Romeo (Lega), Maurizio Gasparri (Fi), and Michaela Biancofiore (CdI), filing a bill on the 'too many removals' of minors from their families.

The speeches in the Chamber, Roccella: "No data so far"

The rapporteur Erika Stefani of the League explained the objectives to be pursued. The government initiative proposal approved by the Chamber of Deputies in October 2025, focuses on the 'principle of the best interests of the child' and wants to 'guarantee the right of children to live in their own families'.

Roccella, speaking in the Senate chamber, stated that 'So far we have had no availability of certain data, so much so that they had to be requested case by case and court by court. The latest data are from a few years ago and made through a targeted survey of individual courts. Therefore, it was essential to build a data flow to obtain more transparency and a set of information necessary to implement, improve and promote the foster care system as well, and to do so especially by having all the data and information available to ensure the best interest of the child".

This is why the national register of foster families, family-type communities and public and private care institutions was created, entrusted to the Department for Family Policies, to which the register of minors is added. Article 1 of the measure amends Law No 184 of 1983 to guarantee the interests of the child and the right of minors to live and grow within their families of origin.

Finally, the National Observatory makes its debut. Analysing data from the national register and promoting inspections and visits are just some of its tasks. Expenses will be borne by the Family Policy Fund.