Child welfare 2024

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

The number of children subject to a notification increased by 4 per cent from the previous year. The number of children subject to a child welfare notification has already been growing steadily for years while the other child welfare indicators have remained stable.

Child welfare notifications were filed mostly for children aged 13 or over. There has been only a small increase in the number of notifications made for children under school age in the past few years. It was therefore exceptional in 2024 that the number of notifications filed for children aged 0–2 increased by as much as 12 per cent, and the number of notifications filed for children aged 3–6 by 7 per cent. Correspondingly, the increase in the number of notifications filed for teenagers stopped.

In 2024, a total of 34,900 children were open care clients in child welfare. The number decreased from the previous year (–9%). The number of clients fell in all age groups. Apart from 2023, the client numbers have been falling over several consecutive years.

The number of children subject to an emergency placement remained almost the same compared to the previous year. A total of 4,900 children were subject to an emergency placement. An emergency placement was most typical among children aged 16–17.

The number of children taken into care (11,300) remained at the same level as the previous years. There were 1,800 new cases of children taken into care, which is slightly less than in the previous year.

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Development of the main key figures in child welfare since 2010.

Tables

Indicators in Sotkanet

Background information

Description of statistics

The child welfare statistics contain information on children and young people who have been placed in out-of-home care or who have been child welfare clients in open care.
The data on children in out-of-home care are based on personally identifiable data. The data on the client relationship and notifications are based on figures. Wellbeing services counties submit the data by municipality on an annual basis.
The statistics are published annually in April/May