The regional centres and observatories for children and adolescents were set up to meet the need for a comprehensive overview of the situation involving children and adolescents in the implementation of Law 451/1997.
In this respect, the National Centre, in cooperation with the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, launched a survey of the measures adopted by each regional authority. The main objective is to highlight the different types of facilities in operation and to encourage a comparison of experiences. Information will be collected by means of a semi-structured questionnaire, administered face-to-face to the centre and observatory contacts on an annual basis. In particular, the topics studied are: the observatory’s set-up (from its name and formal definition, administrative acts of establishment, to changes over time); the current organisational structure (institutional position, working groups and internal organisations); the activities currently being carried out (both on an ongoing and occasional basis); the ‘public’ reference bodies; the funding used; and the monitoring and evaluation of the service. Based on the information collected, it will be possible to map and analyse the different regional situations with regard to the implementation or not of regional observatories or centres for children and adolescents.