Lind of research started in 1998, aimed at studying the situation of children in social difficulty (mistreatment, assistance outside the family centre, etc.)or with risk behaviour, and from the perspectives of educators, foster carers, teachers and the professionals referring to their work within the social protection system for children.This area's studies range from more micro levels (e.g.:the work of an interdisciplinary team), up to the most macrosocial levels (children’s social policies, children’s social participation, social intervention programmes and their evaluation).A European research project is being taken part in a European project, “training itineraries of young people formerly in care” funded by the European Commission and in a study on identifying factors for success and failure among young people who have been in residential care, in the context of Girona.It is also taking part in a series of initiatives and studies on improving systems for preventing, detecting and tackling children’s mistreatment in Catalonia.It has taken part in a European project about the risk behaviour of young people (drugs, driving, sex and vandalism).Research has been conducted on family-fostered infants, credibility of children in judicial procedures, and, recently, school absenteeism.There have been different studies of the work of professionals (evaluation of the activity of the EAIAs in Catalonia, evaluation of risk factors perceived by professionals with Delphi technique, etc.).