The historical evolution of the Italian welfare system seems to indicate an increasing level
of responsibility of territorial governance. The municipalities are, in fact, the center of the
management model of social policy and especially the reference point of a growing social
demand for services. The perspective of the multilevel governance allows, however, identifying
opportunities and constraints of municipal welfare. While the federal tax reform is
still to be done, the municipalities are likely to suffer heavy reduction of national transfers
because of the global economic crisis, which seems increasingly to seek cuts in welfare
system. Only by following the constitutional model of subsidiarity, the Italian welfare system
will emerge from the crisis with a profound renewal, closer to the needs of citizens.
This paper deals with the concept of social partnership from a sociological point of view,
paying a particular attention on its possible applications in different social contexts. The author
gives some definitions of social partnership, which is a polysemous and ambiguous term,
closely linked to its birthplace and its context of application. After this brief introduction, the
focus is put on the function of third sector, with its flexibility and closeness to the community
needs. Third sector organisations have an important role in the creation of partnerships, they
work with public and private actors in order to realize shared, multi-dimensional, well-organized
and holistic projects. These interventions are addressed to specific social contexts and
environments. Social partnerships need to develop a relational culture based on sharing, trust
and reciprocity; they permit to realize something unique that a single actor could never reach
alone. The author shows some experiences of partnership carried out in european and international
realities. The necessity of cooperation crossing the borders becomes stronger and stronger.
As a result, the level of social capital raises and several examples of good practises emerge;
the aim is the production of experiences marked by originality, innovation and creativity.
This paper shows the constitution of the Integrated Family Policies Plan (Pi.Pol.Fam) introduced
in the municipality of Castelnuovo del Garda. It points out the demographic and urban
changes related with the need to maintain (or re-create) social cohesion and democratic participation.
In this attempt, family plays a principal role as a target of policies and as social actor
in the building of practices, activities and policies. The focus of our analysis is the term of ‘integrated’
that leads at the concept of subsidiarity. Analyzing it we note a double meanings: the
first one refers to the organization within the municipal administration. The second one refers
to the civil society involvement in the plan. Two axes take root in a ideological and political
orientation (latency) that characterize the biography of many council members. They, in fact,
worked on a project (called Progetto Genitori) whose aim was to connect school and family;
teachers and parents. In this project we can recognize the basic features of the Integrated
Family Policies Plan.
The study shows the first experimental project about growing up and educating on territory (in
Italian so called «Crescere ed educare nel territorio»), promoted by the district of social-health
of Ventimiglia and started after the definition of Social Integrated Regional Plan of Liguria.
Particularly, this article focuses on the dynamics of the project highlighting its causal mechanisms.
Data analysis and overall participatory evaluation, that empower the different points
of view of stakeholders, considered such as the main agents of the processes of realization
and evaluation of social policies, allow the realization of an evaluative model to the district of
social-health of Ventimiglia, Region of Liguria and Province of Imperia. Moreover, this model
is able to account the impact of public resources to young people that need educational policies.
This paper presents a research about the project Caregiver Liguria realized by the Social
District Genova IV for people who have relatives suffering from Alzheimer’s. This project
was studied through the perspective of the best practices.
The project Caregiver Liguria had two goals: first to train caregivers’ trainers and second
to activate a series of initiatives, those are designed to ease the caregiver’s plight of
strain and stress. This second goal was achieved through the creation and/or implementation
of the network (formal and informal), through the enhancement of the proximity: this is an
example of application of the horizontal subsidiarity.
Forthermore, this project enhanced the relationships as a methodology of social work,
as a goal, as tool. Finally, this project generated in the community a new association (AFMA),
that works with social services for planning and managing projects in the community.
This study is aimed to explore the role of local social services in a particular form of open
adoption called ‘adozione mite’. Psychologist, judges, social workers, adoptive parents and
adopted children have taken part in focus group discussions. Results of qualitative analysis
highlight that local services system represents a strong limit for this type of adoption; according
stakeholders this is certainly an aspect to improve for a good functioning of adoption.
These data are discussed in the light of the role of welfare community to support families and
to facilitate integration between public and private social services.
Gli strumenti: documentazione bibliografica e statistica
This paper analyses the local welfare policies addresses to the young people in the municipalities
of Milan and its Province. Specifically, this presentation sketches both an updated
quantitative scenery of the youth policies implemented in this territory and a first mapping
of the main projects and provided services such as Centri di Aggregazione Giovanili and
Informagiovani.
After a short analysis of the main aspects of immigrant associationism in Italy, the article
analyses a few data concerning the diffusion and characteristics of foreign associations in
Lombardy. Afterwards, the main findings of a research project on Peruvian associations in
this region are presented – a project who paid particular attention to co-development issues.