Substitute care in child welfare
- Service
- 8 municipalities
- Public service
Substitute care means organizing the care and upbringing of a child who has been taken into care or emergency placement, outside of the home. Taking a child into care is the last resort when safeguarding a child’s growth and development. Taking a child into care is a measure that strongly intervenes in the rights a child has according to the Constitution and in the protection of family life that i ...
Do the following
Background information
Child welfare foster care refers to the arrangement of the care and upbringing of a child who has been taken into care outside their home.
The purpose of foster care is to safeguard the balanced development and wellbeing of the child. Foster care can be provided as family care, in an institution or otherwise in accordance with the child’s needs. When organising foster care, the child’s opinion must be taken into account whenever possible. The child also has the right to contact their parents and other people close to them during their foster care. This right may only be restricted if it will jeopardise the realisation of the purpose of the foster care or otherwise prove harmful to the child.
In exceptional cases, a child who has been taken into foster care can also be placed with their parent or other guardian for a maximum period of six months, for example when preparing for their return home after their foster care.
The wellbeing services county that placed the child is responsible for the organisation and costs of the foster care. In practice, this is usually the wellbeing services county where the child’s municipality of residence is located.