Introduction

Aims of the Children's Prosperity Handbook

The law on integrating services for the well-being of children no. 86/2021 came into force in January 2022, a law often referred to as the children's prosperity law for simplicity.

The need for educational and support material for the implementation of the law was quickly apparent from those who have a role to play according to the law. To answer this demand, the National Agency for Families and Children (BOFS) has created various support material including electronic courses, checklists, assessment sheets, and instructions for children's prosperity contacts and case managers.

In the spring of 2024, BOFS decided to start work on a handbook on the subject of children's prosperity in order to support local authorities and government agencies that have a role under those laws. The handbook is prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Children (MRN) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Iceland. The cooperation with UNICEF is based on their experience and knowledge in implementing the project Child-friendly municipalities and their handbook is a model for the Children's Prosperity Handbook. The handbooks are based on the so-called "Theory of Change", and implementation studies that focus on cross-sectoral cooperation between governments, local authorities and society as a whole.

Children's Prosperity Handbook

The Children's Prosperity Handbook is web-based, but it can also be accessed in PDF format. It contains useful advice on implementation, along with instructions, educational material and other supporting material published by BOFS in relation to the law on children's prosperity. All the material is summarized in one place, which should facilitate access to information and useful documents. The handbook should be useful both for those responsible for implementing the law on children's prosperity at local authorities and government agencies, but also for others who have a role to play under the law.

One of the goals of the Children's Prosperity Act is that all children in Iceland receive the same services regardless of their place of residence. The introduction of the Children's Prosperity Handbook increases the likelihood of coordinated practices at the national level when it comes to the processing of cases involving integration of services. The handbook is also a means for the staff of BOFS, MRN and other relevant institutions to ensure coordinated counseling and supervision of these parties. The Children's Prosperity Handbook is also intended to promote quality criteria development and follow-up of adoption of the Children's Prosperity Act at the national level.

The manual is seen as a dynamic document that can change with increased experience and knowledge of the implementation of the Children's Prosperity Act. It is the sincere wish of the staff of BOFS and MRN who were involved in this work that the Children's Prosperity Handbook will be useful.