Child welfare, 2004

30 750 children received assistance while living at home, such as visit homes, economic support, kindergartens and people selected to support the child. About 6 900 children and youths were under the protective care of the Child Welfare Service during 2004, and 82 per cent of these children were in foster homes. The others were placed in institutions or in other care. Boys are still in the majority, as about 20 400 boys and 17 200 girls, i.e. 33 boys compared to 29 girls per 1 000 children below 18 years of age, received assistance.

9 900 new recipients

9 900 children were new recipients in 2004 compared with about 9 450 in 2003 (Table 9), an increase of 4.8 per cent. Parents made the first contact with the Child Welfare Service in one out of four cases (Table 10). The child welfare service initiated 8 per cent of the cases. Schools, police and child protection centres were the reporting body in 10, 6 and 6 per cent of the cases respectively, while kindergartens and neighbours accounted for 3 and 2 per cent of new cases respectively.

Placing outside home as assistance

The Act relating to child welfare services allows children to be placed outside their home without any decision being made by the county committee for social cases to assume protective care. As a result, more children are placed outside the home than there are children under protective care. On turning 18 the children are no longer under protective care by definition. They then receive assistance in the home, even though many are still placed in foster homes. The number of children placed in foster homes as a type of assistance has increased every year since 1993, from about 300 in 1993 to almost 1 850 at the end of 2004. The number of children living in children's homes as a type of assistance has also increased in recent years, from about 150 in 1993 to about 700 at the close of 2004.

28 775 children received help at year-end 2004

About 28 800 children and youths received assistance from the Child Welfare Service at the close of 2004. This is about 1 400 more than in 2003 and an increase of 5.2 per cent. The majority, 22 950 children, received assistance in the home. This is about 1 300 more than at the close of 2003, an increase of 6.0 per cent. At the close of 2004, almost 5 800 children were under protective care. Most of these children, about 5 050, were placed in foster homes. At the close of 2004, the number of children under protective care had increased by about 130 compared with the close of 2003, an increase of 2.3 per cent compared with an increase of 3.3 per cent from 2002 to 2003.

Largest increase among young teenagers

The number of recipients increased in all groups of children under 18 years of age, but the largest increase took place among teenagers aged 13-17 years. In this group the increase was 8.0 per cent. The age group 6-12 years increased by 5.4 per cent, while the age group 0-5 years increased by 3.0 per cent.

Large differences between counties

At the close of 2004, 25 out of 1 000 children aged 18 received assistance compared with 23 in 2003. The majority of children under the protection of the Child Welfare Service live in Østfold, Finnmark and Buskerud, with 28 clients per 1 000 children. The figure is 27 out of 1 000 children in Telemark, Nordland, Troms and Møre og Romsdal. The lowest client rates are found in Akershus with 19 and Vestfold with 21 children out of 1 000 children.

Stavanger on top

Among the four largest cities in Norway, Stavanger has the highest number of clients with 32 per 1 000 children under 18 years at the close of 2004. In comparison Oslo had 26. Bergen and Trondheim both had 25 clients per 1 000 children under 18.

Tables:

• Table 1 Children under protection 31 December, by type of assistance and county. 1987-2004
• Table 2 Children under protection 31 December, by age and type of assistance. 2004
• Table 3 Children under protection during the year and at the end of the year under protection, by type of assistance. 2004. Municipality
• Table 4 Children under protection during the year, at the end of the year and new cases of children placed under protection, by type of assistance and county. 1987-2004
• Table 5 Children under protection during the year, by age and type of assistance. 2004
• Table 6 Children under protection during the year, at the end of the year and new cases of children placed under protection. Figures for sex and age. Absolute figures and per 1 000 children 0-17 years. 1997-2004
• Table 7 Children under protection during the year, by type of care and county. 1987-2004
• Table 8 New cases of children placed under protection, by age and reason for intervention. 2004
• Table 9 New cases of children placed under protection, by age and type of assistance. 2002-2004
• Table 10 New cases of children placed under protection, by age and who reported the case. 2004