Reporting the situation of a child to the child protection services
All children have the right to safety, and if you are concerned about the situation of a child, that a child or an unborn child is being abused, neglected, or is putting their health or development at risk, you should according to law report it to the child protection services in the local authority in question.
You can also contact emergency service 112 by phone or via the web chat. If a child is at risk, call 112 immediately.
What should I report?
It is our responsibility to ensure the welfare of children and according to law, the public and people who work with children are obliged to report suspicions of violence or unwanted circumstances that have any negative impact on a child's health, development or well-being to the child protection services of the local authority.
Each notification can be crucial and it is important to notify if the following factors are suspected:
Neglect, e.g. due to parental incapacity, substance abuse, illness or other circumstances
Violence against a child
Risky behavior of a child
It is important to contact the child protection services if you suspect that the welfare of the child is at risk. It is not necessary to be sure, it is up to the child protection services to decide. If you think a child is at risk, call 112 immediately.
What happens after notification?
The child protection services of municipalities receive notifications, evaluate the information and decide whether the case will be investigated further.
Those who report need to give their name so that the child protection services can contact them if more information is needed. Please note that the public can request anonymity, which applies to everyone other than child protection workers. The child protection services have 7 days to process the notification. Parents are always informed that the notification has been received. Because of confidentiality with families, those who report to the child protection services are not allowed to monitor the situation.
Investigation and treatment plan
If further investigation is considered necessary, a survey is conducted, where information is gathered about the situation of the child and the family; such a process may take 3-4 months before the results are available.
Afterwards the case is either closed with a formal letter to parents, or if further involvement of child protection is needed, the case is continued. Then a treatment plan is made based on the priorities and resources that are considered important to achieve the necessary goals. The plan shall be developed in consultation with parents. Children are consulted in the development of the plan according to their age, development and circumstances. Children aged 15 and older are involved in the development of certain aspects of the plan.
It is important to remember that child protection staff have knowledge of evaluating situations and suggesting improvements, but they need to be informed of those situations to be able to take action in cases. The child must always enjoy the benefit of the doubt, and it is better that a notification is submitted that proves unnecessary, than that no notification is made because no one thought the situation was sufficiently serious.
Service provider
The National Agency for Children and Families