More children receive support services

Despite the fact that the number of children receiving support services increased by 4.5 per cent last year, the number of children in care dropped by two per cent. It is the number of children receiving support services that continues to rise, and Statistics Norway has registered an increase of 6.5 per cent for this group in the past year.

Nearly 22,500 children received one or more services from the child welfare authorities at the end of 1997. This is up by nearly 1,000 compared to the year before. The increase is because the child welfare authorities are actively emphasizing support services instead of taking children into care.

At the end of 1997, nearly 4,750 children were in care. This is two per cent fewer compared to the year before. Of the 4,750 children more than 4,000 were place in foster homes, 350 in homes for children and youths and around 300 in other types of care.

Under the Child Welfare Services Act, children may be placed outside the home without the issue of a care order by the county social welfare board. Since 1993 Norway has seen a significant increase in the number of children placed in foster homes as a support service, from around 300 in 1993 to around 1,050 in 1997. In all, 5,100 children were placed in foster homes at the end of 1997. This is four per cent more than the year before. The number of children placed in homes for children and youths as a support service has also risen from around 150 children in 1993 to around 400 in 1997.

New Statistics
Child welfare, 1997.
The statistics are published annually in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and in Official Statistics of Norway (NOS) Social Statistics. For more information, contact: trygve.kalve@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 46 49, or johanna.soroy@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 46 41.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 37, 1998