Il digitale come nuova soglia del welfare: mandato professionale e pratiche del servizio sociale di fronte al divario digitale

This article examines the digital divide as an emerging issue in local welfare systems, focusing on its implications for social work practice with people experiencing poverty and severe marginalisation. Drawing on twenty semi-structured interviews with social workers in Northern Italy, the study explores how digitalised procedures, institutional platforms and digital credentials reshape access to social rights. Findings show that digital exclusion is not merely a matter of individual skills or technological availability, but is produced at the intersection of social vulnerability, administrative requirements and organisational resources. In this context, social workers develop situated practices ranging from guidance and mediation to direct support and, in some cases, temporary substitution. These practices reveal unresolved tensions between autonomy, protection of rights, professional responsibility and institutional recognition, suggesting that digital inclusion should be understood as a core dimension of equitable welfare access.