Child welfare

The audit showed that the best interests of the child are achieved in child welfare to a varying degree according to the point of view and where a child or young person lives. In open and follow-up care children and young people receive services that meet their needs fairly well. Young people in follow-up care are supported financially according to need, but personal support and guidance in achieving independence are not offered sufficiently. The audit examined whether children and young people receive the services and support measures they need in open, foster or follow- up care and how the family of a child or young person is supported in different stages of the child welfare process. This document contains a summary of the main results of the audit. The entire audit report is available only in Finnish.

The objective of the audit was to determine whether the best interests of the child are achieved in child welfare services. The concept of the best interests of the child is quite open to interpretation and cannot be defined exhaustively. In the audit the best interests of the child were considered to be achieved if child welfare clients and their families received services according to their needs, client plans and local authorities’ child welfare plans were prepared according to legislation, child welfare resources and control were adequate, and the provisions in the Child Welfare Act were given priority in applying legislation concerning social assistance and client fees.

The audit examined whether children and young people receive the services and support measures they need in open, foster or follow- up care and how the family of a child or young person is supported in different stages of the child welfare process. The audit also surveyed whether client plans and local authorities’ child welfare plans complied with legislation. In addition the audit examined whether supervision of the Child Welfare Act is adequate and whether other steering means have promoted the objectives of the Child Welfare Act. The relation between the Child Welfare Act and other legislation was also studied.

The main audit data consisted of interviews with child welfare workers in ten municipalities, imaginary child welfare cases, a questionnaire sent to the regional state administrative agencies and data from the child welfare register. The audit did not examine the achievement of the best interests of the child in preventive child welfare or the private sector.

The audit showed that the best interests of the child are achieved in child welfare to a varying degree according to the point of view and where a child or young person lives. In open and follow-up care children and young people receive services that meet their needs fairly well. Young people in follow-up care are supported financially according to need, but personal support and guidance in achieving independence are not offered sufficiently.

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