Child welfare

Fewer and fewer child welfare notifications lead to a child welfare client relationship

The number of clients in child welfare community care has begun to decline. In 2024, there were 34,900 children as clients in child welfare community care, a decrease of 9 per cent from 2023.

Of all children aged under 18 years, 3.4 per cent were community care clients in 2024.  The corresponding proportion in 2023 was 3.8 per cent. The number of clients decreased in 14 wellbeing services counties, remained unchanged in six and increased in three wellbeing services counties.

Especially the number of child welfare notifications made for young children increased

In 2024, a child welfare notification was filed for 115,000 children, or 10.7 per cent of all children. The number of notifications increased by 4 per cent from the previous year. Exceptionally, the increase from the previous year was strongest among children aged under 13 years. Especially the number of notifications concerning children aged 0–2 increased, the increase being 12 per cent.

Notifications made for children aged 3–6 increased by 7 per cent.
Notifications continued to be filed mostly for children aged 13 or over. A child welfare notification was filed for one out of six children aged 13–15 years in 2024.

The total number of child welfare notifications (230,000) increased by 7 per cent from the previous year. Several notifications may be filed for the same child during one year.

Because notification practices and other factors may affect the figures, conclusions about the state of children’s wellbeing cannot be drawn merely on the basis of the number of child welfare notifications.
 

The number of children placed in out-of-home care has not decreased

A total of 17,100 children were in out-of-home care in 2024. Two thirds (11,300) of them had been taken into care. Taking into care was the most long-term criteria for placing a child in out-of-home care. One per cent of all children had been taken into care.

The number of new children taken into care was 1,750. Every year, the care order is terminated for about 6 per cent of the children who have been taken into care. The number of children and days in out-of-home care are similar to those of the previous years.

The number of children subject to an emergency placement remained at the same level as in the previous year, and their proportion was 0.5 per cent of all children. Twenty-eight per cent of children subject to an emergency placement were taken into care later during the same year.

The statistics on the client numbers in low-threshold primary services have been compiled only since 2023, and the data received from the wellbeing services counties are not yet reliable. As the counties are currently in the process of making changes to the social welfare information systems, THL will be able to publish better data on the services for families with children in the future.

Organisation of child welfare in wellbeing services counties is largely compliant with legislation – with fewer and fewer deviations

The activities of wellbeing services counties are still not fully in compliance with legislation, but there are fewer and fewer deviations. Every six months, THL monitors the fulfilment of child welfare services in wellbeing services counties in terms of processing times and staffing levels.

Social workers’ caseloads in child welfare managed increasingly well

In October 2025, the average number of clients per social worker in child welfare was 26 children. This calculation only includes social welfare services’ clients who are under the age of 18, which means that the social workers may also have other clients who do not need child welfare services.

Despite the positive development, the maximum number of clients specified in legislation is exceeded in the majority of wellbeing services counties. Only eight wellbeing services counties managed not to exceed the statutory number of clients.

In a fifth (18%) of all cases, the tasks of child welfare social workers were being carried out by qualified substitute social workers. The same figure was 28 per cent two years ago in October.

Service needs assessments are mainly completed in the statutory three months

Across Finland, 90 per cent of service needs assessments were completed in under three months. A year ago, that figure was 80 per cent.

Service need must be assessed within three months if a child is considered to need child welfare services or needs special support. Still, the urgency of any new child welfare case is determined immediately.

Introduction of social welfare monitoring register will specify the estimate of the number of child welfare clients

Between 45,000 and 55,000 persons aged under 18 years, i.e. 4.2 per cent of Finnish people aged under 18 are clients of child welfare services.

These estimates are based on data from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s Social welfare monitoring register. The Social welfare monitoring register brings together social welfare data stored in Kanta services and separately provided by wellbeing services counties. Since autumn 2024, the data in the monitoring register have been published as regular statistics.

“Improving the quality of information is long-term work in which THL supports wellbeing services counties. We thank the wellbeing services counties for the work they have done so far. It is now starting to bear fruit,” says Development Manager Martta Forsell.

Key reporting services

• Child welfare indicators in Sotkanet   
• Staffing ratio in child welfare social work. Statistics as charts and results tables. (in Finnish)  
• Processing times in child welfare services. Statistics as charts and results tables. (in Finnish)

Next publications on the topic

• Several times a year: Social welfare clients
• April: Out-of-home placements, Child welfare notifications and Child welfare clients
• June:  Staffing ratio in child welfare social work in April and Processing times in child welfare services 1 October 2023–31 March
• In autumn: Compilation publication about child welfare 
• December: Staffing ratio in child welfare social work in October and Processing times in child welfare services 1 April–30 September 2025