The European Social Fund's progamme Safety nets for young people's futures has four strategic objectives, of which funded projects are required to address at least one. The strategic objectives are intended to target child protection development measures particularly to themes where challenges have been identified.
During the European Social Fund Plus programming period, the strategic objectives of the Safety nets for young people's futures (specific objective 5.1) project period are as follows:
- Reducing the number of placements of children aged 12–17 through high-quality and effective child welfare open-care support measures, working methods, and services that meet the everyday needs of children and families.
- Strengthening parenting and support for the entire family so that no one is left without support during taking into care.
- Reforming aftercare services within child protection into a multidisciplinary support system for the transition to adulthood.
- Addressing children's mental health and substance use problems during periods of out-of-home care.
Foundations of the strategic objectives
The best interests of the child and the solution that is best for the child form the basis for all child protection measures concerning them. Child protection is value‑based human rights work guided and mandated by numerous laws and international human rights conventions (including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child). Protecting children is everyone's responsibility.
At the core of the programme is strengthening the coping capacity and agency of young people and their close networks, as well as renewing the working and operational culture of support systems. The Safety nets for young people's futures programme provides an opportunity to courageously and radically reform child protection through socially innovative approaches enabled by development project funding. A key principle is that reform is not carried out without those concerned, instead, co‑creation is one of the defining characteristics of social innovations.
As a service system, child protection is a broad entity with one shared objective: to support and safeguard the growth and development of the child. Supporting parents and guardians in their parenting role is also one of the core tasks of the service system. The service system is a large ecosystem, a sphere of care that collectively influences the wellbeing of children and families. Therefore, the whole must be viewed through new lenses.