The article analyses the implementation process of the New Social Card (Cas), an anti-poverty action addressed to families characterised by a strong socio-economic disadvantage with at least a minor child. The context of analysis is the city of Bologna, where the New Social Card has been activated between March 2014 and July 2015. The focus is on the dynamics of access, selection, management and monitoring, within a shared reflection emerging from the case studies carried out also in Bari, Catania, Milan, Rome and Turin.