On the 18th of January Amici dei Bambini organized in Brussels the expert meeting "Supporting life after institutional care" in order to share the outcomes and the extensive experiences arising out a social experimentation project co-financed by the European Commission (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) under the "Call for proposal on transnational actions on social experimentation" (VS/2010/0003).

The overall scope of the actions consisted of contributing to the development of innovative social policies in key areas of the European strategy for social protection with specific focus on young care leavers (young people without parental care leaving residential care) and their challenges of social inclusion.
Amici dei Bambini presented the results of 2 year activities carried out in Italy, Bulgaria and Romania  focused on the introduction and post-evaluation of a new, specialized breed of professional - the social intermediary - with a view to counseling young people leaving the child protection system.
The discussion on the proposed "social intermediary intervention model" and tools has been framed in the context of the current deinstitutionalization process fostered across all Europe and thanks to the active participation of European Commission officials and relevant stakeholders representing civil society, local authorities and private sector, we have been able to address tricky issues such as the sustainability and scaling up of a such a productive initiative - laying down the assumptions for a further development of the service in different geographical context and for the benefit of larger group of users.

All the participants acknowledged the relevance of the social intermediary model as a key element in helping young people to build a life for themselves outside the childcare setting.

As demonstrated by our social experimentation vulnerable care leavers will benefit from this  support in order to make the transition into adulthood and independent life less burdensome as underlined also in the "Guidelines on the alternative care of children":  130. Agencies and facilities should have a clear policy and carry out agreed procedures relating to the planned and unplanned conclusion of their work with children to ensure appropriate aftercare and/or follow-up. Throughout the period of care, they should systematically aim at preparing the child to assume self-reliance and to integrate fully in the community, notably through the acquisition of social and life skills, which are fostered by participation in the life of the local community - 132. Special efforts should be made to allocate to each child, whenever possible, a specialized person who can facilitate his/her independence when leaving care.

A warm thank you to all the project partners for their contribution and to all those who provided feedbacks and advices during and after this successful event.