Reporting the situation of a child to the child protection services

Notification about the child is made to the child protection services where the child lives.

See the overview of child protection services by municipality.

During daytime hours, child protection services staff provide information and receive notifications. Outside daytime hours, on weekends and holidays, you can reach the back shift for emergency child protection cases at the 112 telephone hotline.

If you are worried about a child and think that they are not being well looked after, you should report it to the child protection services.

According to law, everyone is obliged to report to the child protection services if they have reason to believe that a child:

The same applies to the health and life of an unborn child. For example, if it is put at risk because of the substance use or behavior of a pregnant woman, or because a pregnant woman is being subjected to violence.

If you are in doubt, contact child protection services.

If you are worried, you should report the matter. Your reporting may be very important for the child or children in question.

Some people are concerned that the situation is not sufficiently serious or that the notification might create unnecessary problems, but it is the responsibility of the child protection service to assess the concerns and whether assistance is needed.

You must always give your name to child protection staff, so that they can contact you if they need further information, but you can request that anonymity be kept about the notification with everyone else. If you are unsure whether you should share your concerns, you can call and have a consultation with child protection staff in your area of residence.

If the notification is made under a name, the processing of the case will often be easier because its origin is clear.

Yes, the child protection law emphasizes the obligation of those who work with children to monitor and alert child protection services if necessary. The obligation to report under the child protection laws overrides the provisions of the law or ethical guidelines on professional secrecy.

See the procedures for school and health care professionals.

No. The Child Protection Authority has a confidentiality obligation regarding its communications with individuals or families, and therefore cannot disclose any personal information about individual cases except to those who are the parties to the case – usually the child and its parents.

Yes, you should. Having reported a case once should not prevent a case being reported again. Cases can take time, can change and sometimes it is difficult to get cooperation with parents. Therefore it can be good to get the most information possible about the case.

Because of confidentiality with families who receive help from child protection services, you will not be able to know what child protection has done since you last reported. Nevertheless, it is important that you contact child protection services if you have concerns, and explain why.

You will not be a party to the case if you report. The parties to the case are only those who are directly affected by it, who are usually the parents and the child.

A notification to child protection services is not a complaint but a request for assistance for the child/family concerned, which the notifier considers necessary. Parents or those with whom the child resides are obliged to assist the child protection services during the examination of the case.

It is completely normal to ask child protection service employees about the parents' rights, and how the investigation is conducted, as employees are required to instruct parents and children about their rights.