The Recommendation aims at supporting Member States to develop and strengthen their child protection systems according to children's needs and in their best interests, encouraging coordination among authorities at different levels, professionals across sectors, and international and civil society organizations. It advocates prioritizing children in decision-making processes, establishing comprehensive national plans to end violence against children, enhancing coordination and cooperation among sectors and authorities, and addressing safety concerns both online and offline, as well as promoting children's mental health and preventing bullying. Specifically on mental health, it encourages Member States to develop national mental health strategies with children as the priority target group, alongside efforts to prevent and fight (cyber)bullying. 

The strategy tackles six thematic areas and proposes a series of targeted actions across each, defining EU priorities for the coming years, mainstreamed across all relevant EU policies. On child protection specifically, the EU commits to addressing all types of violence against children as well as providing mental health and psychosocial support. Concrete actions include building networks with families, schools, youth, and other stakeholders and institutions involved in mental health, and calling for actions on newborn, child and adolescent health, including mental health and psychosocial support. 

The European Child Guarantee aims to prevent and combat social exclusion by guaranteeing access of children in need to a set of key services, thereby also contributing to upholding the rights of the child by combating child poverty and fostering equal opportunities. Member States are recommended to guarantee effective and free access to four services — high-quality early childhood education and care, education and school-based activities, at least one healthy meal each school day, and healthcare — plus effective access to healthy nutrition and adequate housing. Member States were asked to submit national action plans, covering the period until 2030, describing existing and planned policy measures to improve access for children in need.

A digital, remote mental health and psychosocial support service for migrant and refugee children; identified as a good practice in a previous UNICEF report.

An Italian national network for online listening and counselling, funded by the Ministry of Health, with a peer-based model in which young people act as trained providers supported by psychologists, educators and social workers. It operates across 19 centres, with 110+ trained peers and 20,000+ chats handled.