Access to social work services by child welfare is predicated on an assessment of the need for child welfare and special support, which discovers the need for child welfare social work.
In child welfare, we primarily utilise support measures for open care. These include, for example, meetings with a social worker, enhanced family work and family rehabilitation.
Child welfare is a last resort form of support for a child and their family, which is in question when preventive and social care services are not sufficient. In all child welfare activities, the best interests of the child are paramount.
All children and young people who are customers of child welfare have their own social worker, whose task is to monitor their best interests. The social worker draws up a customer plan with the child, their network and loved ones. The plan records the support needs of the child and the family and the means to respond to them. They also monitor the effectiveness of support measures.
In addition, the social worker is responsible for child welfare services and implementation methods for as long as the child is a customer of child welfare. They also support the parents, guardians and other people responsible for the care and upbringing of the child in their responsibility to care for the child.
If the situation in the family is a serious threat to the child's health or development, the child may be placed in foster care for a short period of time as an urgent placement or for a longer period of time on the basis of a custodial decision.
This service is free of charge.
If you lose the contact details of your social worker, you can ask for them from the child welfare on-call service, tel. +358 9 310 62040 on weekdays at 8:15-16.