Nidi Gratis in Lombardia. Attuazione e risultati

Abstract

“Nidi Gratis” initiative, now in its fourth year, was introduced by Lombardy Region on an experimental basis in April 2016 as part of the “Reddito di Cittadinanza” program and was then confirmed for the following years thanks to a continuous investment of resources, including the use of European funds (POR FSE 2014-2020 Program) starting from the second annuity. The purpose of the initiative is to support the recipient families living in condition of economic and social vulnerability, excluding families’ cash outflows for the payment of the tuition costs of nursery schools (0-3 years) in the partaking municipalities, thus facilitating access to child services and answering to work-life balance needs. This research was promoted by the “Comitato Paritetico di Controllo e Valutazione del Consiglio regionale della Lombardia” and aims to evaluate the implementation and results of the initiative in the region. The sources used to conduct this analysis were different: (1) structured questionnaire by PoliS-Lombardia sent to all the nursery schools in the region; (2) stakeholders interviews conducted by PoliS-Lombardia; (3) customer satisfaction surveys available in Lombardy Region Open Data; (4) comparison of the employment status of the parents between T0 (declaration of the family unit economic situation at the beginning of the year) and T1 (Nidi Gratis application form); (5) further assessments of Lombardy Region performance conducted by PoliS-Lombardia. The main results indicate the strengths and weaknesses of “Nidi Gratis”, considering both the economic, managerial and administrative data related to the implementation of the initiatives, and stakeholders’ personal experience