Family counselling service, 2008

The family counselling offices dealt with 28 963 cases in 2008; about 600 fewer than the year before. Region East had most cases; almost 11 400, which is 6.5 per 1 000 inhabitants. Region North still has most cases according to number of inhabitants, i.e. 7.4 per 1 000 inhabitants. As in previous years, Region West has the lowest number of family counselling cases; less than 5 per 1 000 inhabitants.

Couple related issues main reason for enquiry

In 29 per cent of the cases that the family counselling offices dealt with in 2008, the primary client reported that strengthening the relationship was the main reason for the enquiry. About the same number of clients, 27 per cent, contacted a family counselling office to get help to strengthen collaboration on child/children with a former partner, and 12 per cent needed help to clarify whether the relationship will continue or not.

In 69 per cent of the new cases, a woman contacted an office, but men are also represented in the cases. Forty-three per cent of the 85 500 sessions in 2008 included a partner. Former partners took part in 13 per cent of the sessions, and children under 18 years of age took part in 4 per cent.

In 2008 there were 23 700 new cases. For most of these cases, the first session was held within a month after the primary client contacted the family counselling service, 67 per cent. The average waiting time to get a session has increased.

There were about 21 200 closed cases in 2008, and 44 per cent used under two months from the first session. The average treatment time after the first session was 127 days for the cases that were closed in 2008, compared with 121 days the previous year.

Employment

In 2008, the number of man-years in the family counselling service was 423.7, a decrease of 1.5 per cent from 2007. From 2006 to 2007 there was an increase of 12 per cent. A comparison of the number of family counselling positions and inhabitants per county shows that Region North had 1.3 positions per 10 000 inhabitants, whereas Region East and Middle had 0.9 positions per 10 000 inhabitants.

The family counselling offices also work with information, courses and guidance, and the total number of man-hours spent on this was more than 21 700 hours; an increase of 12 per cent from 2007.

The national child welfare and family counselling service spent almost NOK 288 million on family counselling in 2008; an increase of more than 4 per cent from the previous year.

The family counselling offices are the core unit in the Norwegian mediation service, and mediation is a major task in the family counselling service. Statistics on mediations for parents in 2008 are published here .

Tables:

• Table 1 New cases in the Family counselling services, by the primary clients sex and reason for inquiry. Total and Region. 2008
• Table 2 Family counselling services, new cases by period of waiting, region and county. 2008
• Table 3 Family counselling services, closed cases, by duration, region, county and office. 2008
• Table 4 Family counselling services, counselling sessions, by region, county and office. 2008
• Table 5 Family counselling services, by status per 31 December 2008, region, county and office. 2008
• Table 6 Family counselling services, by main actions in the counselling, region, county and office. 2008
• Table 7 Family counselling services, by man-hours spent on counselling sessions, region, county and office. 2008
• Table 8 Family counselling services, by primary client's age, gender, marital status and employment status. Total and region. 2008
• Table 9 Family counselling services, and topics in all cases. Total, region. 2008
• Table 10 Key figures family counselling service. Figures for 2008 and 2007
• Table 11 Figures family counselling service. Figures for 2008