Each child is entitled to special protection and has the right to a safe and conducive growing environment to encourage a harmonious and multi-dimensional upbringing.
Child protection authorities have the responsibility to assist the child if: the child's/adolescent’s living conditions at home are not sufficiently safe, parents neglect to provide necessary care to the child/adolescent, or if the child/adolescent endangers his/her own well-being.
In Tampere, social workers in the social welfare offices are in charge of child protection issues.
The city has three social welfare offices for families with children and each office has a stand-by service for child protection. The social welfare office is the first place to contact with regard to child protection issues.
In case of an emergency outside office hours e.g. during evening
hours and weekends (Monday to Thursday 15 - 24, Friday 15 to Monday 11), the Social stand-by service is on duty: tel. 03 5657 7327 or
0500 625 990
Every person who notices that a child or adolescent needs help can contact a social welfare worker. Just as well, the child or adolescent herself/himself, parents, relatives or neighbours can also ask for help. Information can also be given anonymously.
An employee or trustee of the social welfare and health services, school personnel, the police or parish are all, in accordance with the child protection law, liable to report a child who is in need of child protection.
When a social welfare worker receives a report on the situation of a child, the child protection office has an obligation to investigate whether that child or family needs any support services.
Child protection services are comprised of non-institutional care, taking into care and placing-out.
Most child protection work is done in the area of non-institutional care. Taking into care and placing-out measures are taken only when the child’s well-being cannot be ensured by means of non-institutional care.
Non-institutional care is based on discussion, guidance, advice and non-institutional support measures; the social welfare worker examines the need for help together with the child/adolescent and his/her family. If necessary, the social welfare worker works in cooperation with the personnel of day care centres, health centres, schools, the Family Law Services and Family Counselling Centre.
Non-institutional services and support measures provide, for example, a support person or family. It also includes the non-institutional family work carried out by the family support centres.
If a child is taken into care, he/she either moves in with a temporary family, into a family home or children's home. When the child is taken into care and placed in temporary care, all handling of the child's affairs is transferred from the social welfare office to the social welfare office Satama.
Information on child welfare
The website www.lastensuojelu.info provides an overview of child welfare in Finland especially for immigrants (in English, Russian, Somalian, Arabic, Persian and Kurdish). It contains compiled information on what child welfare is, what it is based on and how it works:
