Children’s institutions, 2015

A total of 504 700 bed-days were registered in children’s institutions and care centres for minors in 2015; 66 800 more than in 2014. The increase is mostly related to unaccompanied minors, from 29 000 bed-days in 2014 to 95 300 in 2015, in private and publicly-owned institutions.

Fewer bed-days in publicly-owned institutions in most regions

Bed-days in publicly-owned institutions, excluding stays in care centres for minors, have declined by 15 per cent in the North region, 9 per cent in the West region, 6 per cent in the South and the East region. In the Middle region, the number of bed-days was stable, and in Oslo there were an increase of 6 per cent. 

Why are children placed in institutions?

A total of 1 841 children were institutionalised at the end of 2015, of which 744 were unaccompanied minors placed under section 5A-1 of the legislation on child welfare services. Among the rest of the children, care stays were the most common type of stay (34 per cent). Voluntary stays accounted for 33 per cent and acute stays 18 per cent. Behavioural stays accounted for the remaining 15 per cent of total stays.

Sixteen per cent of all resident children were aged 12 years or younger. The share is about the same among the unaccompanied minors.

More boys than girls were institutionalised (70 per cent boys), but excluding unaccompanied minors, boys made up 54 per cent.

Half of the expenditure in publicly-owned institutions in region East was spent on care centres

The data source only enables us to separate operating expenditure on unaccompanied minors among the publicly-owned institutions. The institutions’ operating expenditure amounted to NOK 750 million in the East region. NOK 382 million, which is just over half, was operating expenditure for the care centres for minors, which are all situated in the East region. 

The institutions’ operating expenditure amounted to almost NOK 4.4 billion in 2015; a 14 per cent rise. The level of operating expenditure has been stable for the five preceding years. Operating expenditure per bed-day was on average NOK 8 700. Stays in publicly-owned institutions are about NOK 1 700 more expensive than this on average. The private non-profit operating expenditure per bed-day was NOK 7 500; about the same level as in 2014, while in other private institutions the operating expenditure per bed-day was about NOK 7 400; a decrease of about NOK 1 000. 

Increase in man-years

There was an increase of almost 7 per cent in the number of contracted man-years adjusted for sick leave and maternity leave in children’s institutions between 2014 and 2015.