Child welfare open care is a set of services that aim to support and promote the child’s growth and development as well as the parents’ ability to meet the child’s needs. Child welfare open care is intended for the child, the child’s parent or other custodians when the child’s right to a safe and stimulating growth environment, balanced and diverse development and protection is not realised or is in danger of not being realised.
Together with the client, a child welfare social worker will look for alternative solutions, organise support by means of services, and monitor and assess whether the measures taken are effective.
If various support measures are not sufficient to ensure the child’s safe growth and development in the long term, the child can be taken into custody and placed in a family, child welfare institution or professional family home. The support measures always correspond to the needs of the child and the family and are adapted to the individual situation.
What you should do
You can contact child welfare services when you are concerned about your own child or your own or your family’s situation and need help in resolving the situation.
Anyone who notices that a child or young person is in need of help can contact child welfare services, also anonymously. This person can be the child or young person themselves, parents, relatives or neighbours.
Professionals working with children, young people and families, such as social and health care, school, police or parish employees, have an obligation under the Finnish Child Welfare Act to contact child welfare services if they are concerned about the well-being of a child, young person or family.