National Adoption. Griffini (Ai.Bi.): “The mystery of the database of adoptable children has still not been solved… after 20 years!”

The third episode of journalist Igor Traboni's investigation on the magazine Orwell.it is dedicated to national adoptions

“Italy is not a country for adoptive families ”. Thus begins the third episode of journalist Igor Traboni's investigation into the world of adoption for Orwell.it. An episode which, unlike the previous two , in which the topic of international adoption was explored, focuses on national adoptions.

“For every potentially adoptable Italian child – explains Traboni – there are around 10 copies available to do so. Yet, every year, there are fewer adoption decisions." Furthermore, the journalist continues, “Italy (...) in 1998 ratified the Hague Convention, an almost global point of reference for the protection of minors and international cooperation. Yet Italian children cannot be adopted by a foreign couple! And here it borders on the absurd, because: either you are part of certain rules and, therefore, you apply them all, or you are in breach of these”.

Traboni interviewed the president of Ai.Bi on this topic. – Friends of Children, Marco Griffini . Who explained: “Let's say straight away that, as authorized bodies, we have no jurisdiction over national adoptions, the matter of which falls under the jurisdiction of the juvenile courts. However, there is this problem of Italian children who, in fact, cannot be adopted by citizens of other nations. It has happened to us several times that from abroad, for example by Italian-American couples, we are asked to be able to adopt in Italy, but... it's not possible. Like Ai.Bi. we have been carrying on this battle for many years, but our requests have always been rejected by the CAI, the Adoption Commission, with the reasoning that, in practice, until there is a database of national adoptions, it is not possible to apply the principle of reciprocity".

“The Italian reality – Traboni continues – in short, is that of a great precariousness that persists, because the database, on paper, is foreseen by a specific law (number 149 of 2001 in article 40) then, however, it took more than a decade (and all the obstinacy of Aibi) to arrive at a sentence from the TAR of Rome which (in February 2013) forced the Ministry of Justice to establish it. Is everything resolved? Not by chance, because only in 2017 did the Ministry make it known that, finally, the 29 juvenile courts are connected to each other. In practice, all this time (16 years…) was needed to put 29 computers online!”

“We are also authorized bodies – comments the president of Ai.Bi. – we could give a big hand, collaborating with the Courts, in the interests of the minor, but..." . But the database still doesn't work...