Ulla Siimes, the executive director of the National Union of Child Protection, hopes that the focus of services will shift from corrective measures to prevention.
The pressure in child protection has not eased, rather the opposite.
– It must be possible to give support at a low threshold. It can be, for example, peer support or services.
According to Siimes, the accessibility of services varies regionally and locally. Likewise, the workforce and resource situation.
– There is a lot of pressure in some places. If children and families are not reached at an early stage, situations easily turn into a crisis, and then even heavier services are needed for support.
Among those who fled the war from Ukraine to Finland, there are also children whose lives have been shaken.
– More trauma expertise is definitely needed in child protection.
The vision and mission of child protection must be defined
Work on reforming the child protection legislation has begun. Together with, for example, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, we will start by considering what child protection should be in the future.
Ulla Siimes, the executive director of the Central Union of Children’s Protection, hopes for a shift in focus.
– Hopefully, we would get more access to preventive services than remedial services.
National Child Protection Days 2022 started with the theme of \”Safety and hope\” on Tuesday in Lahti.