Child welfare, 2014

Not only the number of children with care measures has increased: when you look at the number in relation to the number of children in the population aged 0-17 years, the share of care measures has also grown. In the last ten years there has been an increase from 5.5 per 1 000 children in 2005 to 7.6 per 1 000 children in 2014 with care measures. Children receiving assistance measures increased until the year 2010, but then there has been a reduction from 24.1 child per 1 000 at the end of 2010 to 22.0 per 1 000 children aged 0-17 years, at the end of 2014. This can be viewed as a shift from a child welfare service as a welfare service aiming at improving living conditions, to a child welfare service whose main purpose is protecting children from neglect.

Number of children receiving measures during the year is stable

A total of 53 100 children received measures from the Child Welfare Services in 2014. In 2013, the number was 53 150. In 2014, 82 per cent of the children received assistance measures and 18 per cent received care measures; an increase from 17 per cent in 2013.

As in previous years, there were more boys than girls receiving assistance from the Child Welfare Services in 2014; in total 29 200 boys and 23 900 girls, giving a share of 55 and 45 per cent respectively.

7 in 10 with placement measures are in foster homes

By the end of 2014, more than 37 100 children were registered with measures from the Child Welfare Services. This was 100 children fewer than in 2013.

Approximately 40 per cent of the children with measures at the end of the year were placed outside of their family home, either as a care or an assistance measure. About 14 800 children were placed, which is a 2 per cent increase from 2013. Foster homes covered 7 out of 10 of the placement measures.

8 in 10 notifications submitted for further investigation

In 2014, the Child Welfare Services concluded 53 000 notifications relating to 46 950 children. This is less than one per cent more than in 2013. The clear majority of the notifications were processed and concluded within the deadline of 7 days, with less than 2 per cent having a longer processing time.

A total of 41 950 of the notifications, about 79 per cent, were submitted for further investigation, the rest of the notifications were dismissed. The older the children are the more often the notifications are dismissed.

41 900 investigations initiated

In 2014, the Child Welfare Services initiated 41 900 investigations on 39 400 children; an increase of just above 1 per cent since 2013 and a small increase compared to 2012 when there were 12 per cent more investigations initiated.

Rise in investigations closed

The Child Welfare Services closed 41 000 investigations in 2014; an increase of almost 8 per cent compared to 2013. In 2014, 42 per cent of the closed investigations had a decision on starting measures. In 1.5 per cent of the investigations, an application was submitted for measures to the county welfare board. The rest of the investigations were dismissed for various reasons; 44 per cent after assessment by child welfare service, 8 per cent at the parties' request and 5 per cent due to relocation.

Different categories for measures

Due to the change in the reporting system in 2013 several more categories for measures can be registered and reported than previously. In 2014, a total of 147 100 measures were registered, which is about the same level as in 2013.

The number of measures by the end of 2014 was approximately 82 750, which is 5 400 more than in 2013. From the eight main categories, where three of them contained placement measures, 40 per cent were measures to enhance the child's development. Twenty-five per cent of the measures were measures to enhance parenting skills. Approximately 10 per cent of the measures were in the category networking/cooperation with other services. About 6 per cent of the measures at the end of 2014 were measures involving supervision and control. One per cent were measures involving investigation and treatment from other services. Remaining measures at the end 2014 were placement measures.

NOK 11.3 billion total expenditure

The total expenditure for the Child Welfare Services grew by almost NOK 600 million from 2013, and totalled almost NOK 11.3 billion in 2014, representing a 5 per cent rise.

Man-years in the Child Welfare Services

A total of 5 139 man-years were reported by the end of 2014; an increase of almost 6 per cent compared to 2013. The largest group of man-years is made up of child-care workers by occupation, with 2 416 man-years. A total of 1 499 man-years is made up of social workers by occupation.

Dynamisk informasjon knyttet til publiseringen