Approval for providing private non-24-hour social services

Non-24-hour social services support the functional capacity and independent living of a person who requires the services. The need for services is not based on 24-hour care and attention, but something else.

Non-24-hour social services include social work, social guidance, social rehabilitation, home service for families with children, support services, home care, supported and communal housing, services supporting mobility, mental health work and substance abuse work. They also include family work, child guidance and family counselling, mediation in family matters, supervision of child and parent meetings and adoption counselling. In addition, non-24-hour social services include child and youth care in non-institutionalservices, non-institutional services for the disabled and student welfare's school social worker services.

Non-24-hour social services may be provided privately if the activities meet certain conditions. The service provider must submit a written notification of starting the operations to the wellbeing services county in which it aims to provide its services. The wellbeing services countywill submit the notification and its statement on the matter to the Regional State Administrative Agency which makes the decision on the registration of the service provider.

If the service provider only provide a support service or a comparable service, the Regional State Administrative Agency will not make a registration decision on it. Instead,the wellbeing service county decides on the approval of the service provision in question. Support services refer to meal, clothing care, cleaning and transaction services and services that promote or support inclusion and social interaction. A service comparable to a support service includes personal assistance.

Before starting your activities, submit a notification to the wellbeing services county where you intend to offer services. If you intend to operate in several wellbeing services counties, submit a separate notification for each wellbeing services county.

Submit the notification with a separate form and remember to append the following documents:

• an up-to-date extract from the Trade Register or a copy of your business registration
• a copy of your Articles of Association, partnership agreement or statutes if the applicant is a company, other organisation or foundation
• your action plan
• a copy of the degree certificates of the person responsible for the services and an account of their work experience
• your customer register’s privacy policy.

If you provide services in a separate facility, your notification must also include the following documents:

• your facility’s floor and use plan
• a statement by the rescue authority
• a statement from the environmental health authority if food is served in the premises.

The wellbeing services county will check your notification, visit your facilities if applicable and submit your notification to the Regional State Administrative Agency for registration.

The Regional State Administrative Agency checks the notification form and the appendices, makes its registration decision, sends the decision to you and stores the information in your notification in the register of private social welfare and health care service providers. You have the right to appeal the decision if you are dissatisfied with it.

If you only provide a support services under the Social Welfare Act, the notification form is processed by the wellbeing services county instead of the Regional State Administrative Agency.

Before starting operations, notify the social welfare authority of the municipality where you intend to provide services. If you intend to provide services in several municipalities, notify each municipality separately.

• action plan
• statement by the institution responsible for social welfare in the municipality of location or by an office holder appointed by it
• a copy of the qualifications of the person responsible for the services and an account of their work experience
• description of the customer register.

Documents referred to in the Act on the Contractor's Obligations and Liability:

• Examination of whether the company has been entered in the Prepayment Register and Employer Register under the Prepayment Act (1118/1996) and in the VAT Register under the Value Added Tax Act (1501/1993).
• Trade Register extract.
• A statement that the company does not have a tax debt, referred to in section 20b subsection 1 section 2, of the Act on the Public Disclosure and Confidentiality of Tax Information (1346/1999) or a report on the amount of tax debt issued by an authority.
• Certificates of taking out an employee's pension insurance and payment of pension insurance contributions, or proof that a payment plan for overdue pension insurance contributions has been prepared.
• Report on the applicable collective agreement or central terms and conditions of employment.
• Report on how occupational health care is provided.

If you provide services in separate premises, also attach:

• a floor plan and an operation plan
• an emergency plan and an evacuation safety report
• a statement from the rescue authority
• a statement from the environmental health care authority, if food is served on the premises.

The municipality’s social welfare authority reviews the form, visits the premises and submits a statement and the documents to AVI for registration. After receiving all required information and attachments, the municipality provides a certification of receipt. The certificate states the processing time of the registration.

AVI reviews the form, decides on the registration, sends the decision to you and records the provided information in the register of private social and health care providers. You have the right to appeal the decision if you are dissatisfied with it.

If you provide home help support services or similar services, the form is processed by the municipality instead of AVI.

The Regional State Administrative Agency may approve a private service provider as a non-24-hour social services provider if the following conditions are met:

• the activities meet all the requirements set for them
• a person with a suitable higher educationdegree who has knowledge of the field and sufficient management skills has been appointed for the provision of the services
• the personnel providing the services have received the appropriate education and training.

If facilities are required for providing the services, they must be adequate and suitable for the purpose. The necessary equipment must be appropriate in nature, and the service must feature a sufficient number of personnel. The service provider is responsible for ensuring that their selection of services meets the requirements set for it.

If the person in charge of the service activities changes or any other significant changes take place, the service provider must submit in advance a written notification to the wellbeing services county, who will notify the Regional State Administrative Agency of the changes.

If a trader who is established in another country belonging to the European Economic Area provides services on a temporary basis in Finland, they are required to apply for the same permits for their activities as traders established in Finland.