The Youth Interdisciplinary Family Work program is targeted at young people with immigrant backgrounds and their families. The goal is to provide more comprehensive and effective support and assistance to immigrant families who are clients of child welfare and family social services.
Approximately 26% of child welfare clients in Helsinki have a foreign language background. Studies show that young people with immigrant backgrounds are more vulnerable in terms of many health and well-being factors compared to their Finnish counterparts.
Minna Larvio who is the project manager of this new model, considers this service to be especially important from the perspective of equality.
– There is a strong will in Helsinki to reduce out-of-home placements for young people. In the case of clients with immigrant backgrounds, it is important for us to pay particular attention to two things: whether families who are experiencing difficulties are receiving the right kind of support and assistance; and whether there are any obstacles or delays in accessing help that can be avoided, says Larvio.
A young person may show distress through violent behavior, experimenting with substances, committing crimes, or dropping out of school.
– Public discussions often focus on these outward symptoms and ways to correct a young person’s behavior through various interventions. In the Youth Interdisciplinary Family Work program, we shift our focus below the surface — to the underlying factors that contribute to a young person’s distress, explains Georgia Tsatsaroni a family worker in the Youth Interdisciplinary Family Work program.
When examined more closely, it becomes clear that a young person's problematic behaviors are often influenced by a multitude of challenges and experiences faced by their parents and family.
– Traumatic life events, housing difficulties, poverty, and experiences of racism all impact a young person's well-being, explains Tsatsaroni.
Larvio reminds us that racism is not a marginal issue for young people and families with immigrant backgrounds.
– Research shows that children and young people's experiences of discrimination and racism begin as early as preschool. School health surveys have revealed that more than one in four upper secondary school students with a foreign background has been bullied due to their skin color, language, or background. [1]
Statistics show that families with an immigrant background tend to live in more cramped conditions than the native population. They also often have lower levels of education, and face greater difficulties in finding employment. [2] Arol Majok, Emna Bouzaiane and Sunita Keshteh, who work as social instructors in adult social work within the Youth Interdisciplinary Family Work program, explain that financial difficulties, socioeconomic disadvantage, and housing-related challenges are common in many client families.
– Navigating the service system is challenging for many parents with immigrant backgrounds, leading to underutilization of services. They may not know about, understand, or know how to seek help for their own challenges. The authorities only become aware of a family's difficulties when they have worsened, describes Majok.
Authorities expect parents to be proactive and fulfill their obligations but do not ensure that parents have understood what they are supposed to do or even if they are capable of doing so.
– Managing these obligations can be challenging for someone who is illiterate or has limited proficiency in Finnish, Bouzaiane points out.
A significant portion of a social instructor’s workday in adult social work may involve teaching clients how to use electronic services like Maisa or the Job Market Finland portal. This enables parents with limited language skills to independently handle matters related to authorities and job applications in the future.
– For the native population, tools like Maisa, online banking, or Wilma may facilitate and encourage participation and inclusion. However, for parents with an immigrant background, these same tools can become the biggest obstacles to inclusion, Majok remarks.
The social instructors in adult social work believe that flexibility is one of the most essential qualities for authorities in such situations.
– In addition to providing guidance and advice in the office, staff must be willing to step into the field, accompany clients to services, and support them throughout the process, Keshteh explains.
Parents must receive the support they need to handle their own matters so that the responsibility does not shift to the children.
Children often integrate more quickly than their parents, adopting societal norms and practices at a faster pace. This difference in integration rates can lead to situations where parents rely on their children for assistance, such as interpreting in interactions with authorities.
– As authorities, we need to work to prevent such situations. Parents must receive the support they need to handle their own matters so that the responsibility does not shift to the children, social instructor Bouzaiane emphasizes.
The goal of Youth Interdisciplinary Family Work is to support the overall functioning of the entire family, thereby fostering positive changes in the well-being of the young person. The team consists of 12 professionals: 6 family workers; 3 social instructors; and 2 mental health and substance abuse nurses specializing in youth care.
Each client family is assigned a multidisciplinary support team, and the approach is tailored to the family’s specific needs. Work is carried out with the young person and the parent separately, as well as together in joint family meetings.
– Our work is mobile and takes place in the family’s everyday environment. It is important for us to listen to and respect the clients' wishes—meetings can be held at school, at home, or even in cafés, explains nurse Ubax Tohow.
Most of the challenges faced by families with an immigrant background are similar to those of any other family.
Client work within this new program began in January 2024, and so far, the team has worked with 65 young people and their families. Various themes have emerged in the work: financial and housing challenges; experiences of racism; difficulties in navigating a fragmented service system; and differing ways of raising children.
– However, most of the challenges faced by families with an immigrant background are similar to those of any other family, regardless of cultural background. School-related difficulties, conflicts between parents and young people, and parental exhaustion are common issues in all families with children, counselor Tsatsaroni points out.
Team members have experienced the multidisciplinary nature of the team as a strength. When the skills of all three specialized groups within the Youth Interdisciplinary family work team are combined, the support received by the family is comprehensive.
The timeliness of the service, the skills of working with an interpreter, and the building of trust between clients and teams members are essential for the success of the work.
- Working through an interpreter takes more time and introduces a unique structure to the work. We have heard from clients that there are differences in the level of interpretation, says Keshteh.
- Immigrant families may have preconceptions about child welfare and authorities due to, for example, previous experiences in their home country or in Finland. We strive to build trust by breaking down misconceptions and ensuring that the client understands their rights and obligations in Finnish society, describes social instructor Bouzaiane.
Families have found it important that members of Youth Interdisciplinary Family Work program visit their homes and that they can have a conversation in their own native language. Team members have also received praise for their positive attitude.
A central value and starting point for Youth Multidisciplinary Family Work is anti-racism. We know that we do not live in a discrimination-free society, and we strive as a team to continuously assess whether there are any racist practices or structures in our own or the surrounding system's operations. We raise these issues and invest in ensuring that every client is met as an individual without fear that their background or appearance will affect the service they receive, Larvio emphasizes.
Youth Multidisciplinary Family Work is being developed as part of the Sustainable Growth project, which aims to strengthen well-being and prevent problems. The project is part of the Finnish Sustainable Growth Program, which is funded by the European Union's one-time recovery instrument (Next Generation EU). The program is coordinated by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and is implemented in all Finnish well-being areas and in Helsinki.
References (in Finnish):
[1] Eid & Castaneda 2023, Valtion nuorisoneuvosto: Ulkomaalaistaustaisten nuorten hyvinvointi tutkimusten ja tilastojen valossa(Link leads to external service) (.pdf)
[2] Saukkonen 2022, Helsingin kaupunki: Ulkomaalaistaustaiset pääkaupunkiseudulla: asuminen, työllisyys ja tulot vuonna 2020 (.pdf)
Text: Sanna Hakulinen, Minna Larvio and Arol Majok
