Child welfare’s substitute care

Substitute care refers to the care- and rearing arrangement outside the home when a child has been taken into custody or placed urgently.

Sometimes difficulties might be so serious that it is better for a child to be arranged their care outside the home either in a foster family, a professional family home, or an institution. Custody might occur also into kindred family.

Usually custody is prepared for a long time with a child and a family. Client plan is needed with custody as well. It includes the meaning and the aim of custody, and the communication between a child and their loved ones. Statements can be requested from professionals of child´s growth and development.

Parent whose child has been taken into custody, can receive their own client plan for guidance and support. Support for biological parents of placed children can be found at www.suomenkasper.fi.

Urgent custody

If a child is in immediate danger or otherwise needs urgent substitute care, he/she can be placed into family or institutional care with an urgent custody decision. Maintaining and retaining the connection with child´s own parents and siblings is important for child´s own development even if he/she is not living at home. Loved ones are able to visit in custody place and the child can visit at home. Parents participate in the negotiations concerning the child.