Child welfare
Shortly
- The objective of child welfare is to guarantee children’s right to a safe growth environment, development and special protection.
- The aim is to provide support at the earliest possible stage at schools and maternity and child health clinics, for example.
- Child welfare is based on the primacy of the best interests of the child, which is governed by national and international legislation.
- Child welfare legislation is currently being reformed to make it clearer and more effective.
The purpose of child welfare is to guarantee children’s right to a safe growth environment, balanced and well-rounded development and special protection.
- Handbook for child welfare (THL) (in Finnish)
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for the preparation of child welfare legislation and for the general guidance of child welfare services.
The wellbeing services counties are responsible for organising child welfare services. They can provide the services themselves or purchase them from external service providers. If wellbeing services counties decide to purchase services, they must supervise the activities of the service providers.
The measures promoting the wellbeing of children and young people aim to prevent the need to resort to the actual child welfare measures. The purpose of preventive child welfare is to provide help and support at a sufficiently early stage to prevent problems from occurring or escalating. The maternity and child health clinics, early childhood education and care and schools play an important role in carrying out preventive work.
- Children, young people and families (THL) (in Finnish)
Child Welfare Act safeguards children’s rights
Provisions on child welfare are laid down in the Child Welfare Act.
Provisions on the rights of children are laid down in the Constitution of Finland. Finland is also bound by the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These conventions oblige the states to give priority to the best interests of the child in all actions by the authorities.
Overall reform of child welfare legislation
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is preparing an overall reform of child welfare legislation. The reform aims to safeguard children’s right to balanced development and special protection. It also aims to make child welfare services clearer and more effective.
Reform consists of two phases
The first phase included clarifying the vision for child welfare and drawing up guidelines for the reform. It also included making a preliminary assessment of the impacts of different alternatives for implementing the reform and a legal analysis and international comparison of child welfare legislation. In addition, the current legislation, together with the amendments made to it and their impact, were analysed. Stakeholders participated in the preparation of the reform in autumn 2022. Concrete measures have been taken since 2023 to implement the necessary legislative reforms.
Guidelines and publications on child welfare
Children who have left their substitute care without permission (runaways)
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the National Police Board and the Emergency Response Centre Agency have put together a set of guidelines for returning children who have left their substitute care facility without permission. The guidelines, which are in table format, are intended for a variety of actors. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare also participated in this work.
Quality recommendation for child welfare
The quality recommendation for child welfare supports the implementation, assessment, development and management of child welfare services.
Stages of child welfare
Preventive child welfare
Preventive child welfare refers to the special support provided for families within the basic public services, for example at maternity and child health clinics, and within other healthcare services, early childhood education and care, family centres, education, and youth work. Children and families using preventive child welfare services do not need to be child welfare clients, because preventive work is carried out as part of the services intended for children, young people and families.
Child welfare notification and investigation of the need for child welfare measures
A child welfare case is initiated upon application or notification submitted to the social welfare authorities. A child’s possible need for urgent child welfare measures must be assessed immediately. In other cases, a social worker must assess within seven weekdays whether an investigation of the need for child welfare measures is necessary.
A client relationship with child welfare services begins when the social welfare authorities have undertaken urgent child welfare measures or made a decision to investigate the need for child welfare measures.
A child welfare client is assigned a personal social worker. The wellbeing services county is responsible for providing the child and their family with those social services that the social worker responsible for the child’s case assesses in the client plan to be absolutely necessary for the health and development of the child.
- Child welfare notification and initiation of proceedings in a child welfare case (in Finnish)
- Investigation of the need for child welfare measures (in Finnish)
Open care
If the health or development of a child is endangered by the child’s growth environment or the child themself, open care support measures must be taken without delay. Therapy, support persons, family work, peer group activities and recreational activities are examples of support measures in open care.
- Open care (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare) (in Finnish)
Urgent placement
If a child is in immediate danger or otherwise in need of urgent placement and substitute care, the child may be placed in care with urgency.
Taking into care
If the health or development of a child is seriously endangered by the child’s growth environment or the child themself and support measures in open care are not suitable, possible or sufficient, the child must be taken into care. However, the child may be taken into care only if the substitute care is assessed to be in the best interests of the child.
Before the child is placed away from home, it must be investigated whether the child could live with persons close to the child or whether these persons could otherwise participate in supporting the child.
Substitute care
Substitute care means arranging the care and upbringing of a child that has been taken into care, placed urgently or placed on the basis of an interim order issued by an administrative court away from the child's own home.
Substitute care may be arranged as family care in a foster family or as institutional care in a children’s home, reform school or another child welfare institution.
Substitute care (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare), in Finnish Link to external website
Aftercare
A child or a young person is entitled to aftercare support measures after the termination of substitute care or placement carried out as a supportive measure in open care, if the placement has lasted for at least six months. Aftercare can also be provided for other young people who have been clients of child welfare services.
The maximum age for child welfare aftercare is 23 years.
Aftercare support measures include, for example, assistance in arranging accommodation for a young person during their studies or support provided by a social instructor.
- Aftercare (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare) (in Finnish)
Further information
Susanna Hoikkala, Ministerial Adviser
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Department for Communities and Functional Capacity / YTO, Children and Young People Unit / LANU Telephone:0295163482 Email Address: [email protected]
Tiina Muinonen, Ministerial Adviser
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Department for Communities and Functional Capacity / YTO, Children and Young People Unit / LANU Telephone:0295163185 Email Address: [email protected]