Child welfare, 2005

Most of the children, about 32 150 received only assistance while living at home, such as visit homes, kindergartens and people selected to support the child. About 7 100 children and youths were under the protective care of the Child Welfare Service during 2005, and 83 per cent of these children were placed in foster homes. The others were placed in institutions or in other care. There is still more boys than girls receiving assistance from the Child Welfare Service, 33.8 compared to 30.1 per 1 000 children below 18 years of age.

Largest increase among the oldest

The number of recipients increased in all age groups of children, but the largest increase took place among youths aged 18-22. The group of teenagers 13-17 years increased by about 600 to the total of 12 850, an increase of 5.2 per cent. The youths aged 18-22 increased by 300 to the total of 4 100, an increase of 7.7 per cent.

Other assistance at the top

Among different type of assistance, Other assistance is on the top of the list. This type of assistance consist of many different things for example, giving advice to the family , to participate in an organized group , to help children with lessons , and others. About 18 600 children, or 47 per cent of all children receiving assistance in 2005 got other assistance , which is about 1 500 more than in the previous year, an increase of 9 per cent. About 13 700 children received economic assistance , which is 35 per cent of all recipients. Visit homes / relief support , foster homes , kindergarten , person selected to support the child , and supervision , are also often used.

Placing outside home as assistance

The Act relating to child welfare services from 1993 allows children to be placed outside the home without any decision being made by the county committee for social cases to assume protective care. Therefore there are more children placed outside the home than there are children under protective care. On turning 18 the children are no longer under protective care by definition. They then receive assistance in the home, even though a lot of these youths are still placed in foster homes. The number of children placed in foster homes as a type of assistance, has increased each year, from about 300 in 1993 to about 1 800 children at the close of 2005. The number of children living in children's homes, as a type of assistance, has also increased in recent years from about 150 in 1993 to almost 750 at the close of 2005.

29 900 children received help at the close of the year

About 29 900 children and youths received assistance from the Child Welfare Service at the close of 2005. This is about 1 100 more than in the previous year, an increase of 3.8 per cent. The majority, 23 850 children, received assistance in the home. This is about 900 more than at the close of 2004, an increase of 4.0 per cent. At the close of 2005 about 6 000 children were under protective care. Most of these children, about 5 200, were placed in foster homes. Almost 600 children stayed in orphanages and about 200 children lived in other care outside their home. At the close of 2005 there were almost 200 more children under protective care compared with the close of 2004, an increase of 3.1 per cent. From 2003 to 2004 the increase was 2.3 per cent.

Large differences among the counties

At the close of 2005, an average of 25.2 children out of 1000 below age 18 received assistance compared with 24.5 the previous year. The highest rate of children under the protection of the Child Welfare Service live in Telemark county and Møre og Romsdal county with 32 and 29 clients per 1 000 children. The lowest client rate has Akershus county with 19.

Tables:

• Table 1 Children under protection 31 December, by type of assistance and county. 1987-2005
• Table 2 Children under protection 31 December, by age and type of assistance. 2005
• Table 3 Children under protection during the year and at the end of the year under protection, by type of assistance. 2005. Municipality
• Table 4 Children under protection during the year, at the end of the year and new cases of children placed under protection, by type of assistance and county. 1987-2005
• Table 5 Children under protection during the year, by age and type of assistance. 2005
• Table 6 Children under protection during the year, at the end of the year and new cases of children placed under protection. Figures for sex and age. Absolute figures and per 1 000 children 0-17 years.1997-2005
• Table 7 Children under protection during the year, by type of care and county. 1987-2005
• Table 8 New cases of children placed under protection, by age and reason for intervention. 2005
• Table 9 New cases of children placed under protection, by age and type of assistance. 2002-2005
• Table 10 New cases of children placed under protection, by age and who reported the case. 2005