Child welfare

Effective from 1 September 2024, all anticipatory child welfare notifications within the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County will be processed by the Child Welfare Services.

Anticipatory child welfare notification (Child Welfare Act, section 25c)

Before a child is born, an anticipatory child welfare notification must be made, regardless of confidentiality provisions, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the child will require supportive child welfare measures immediately after birth.

Starting child welfare work during pregnancy can often significantly improve the well-being of both the parents and the baby. The aim of this work is to help parents prepare a safe environment for the newborn by addressing any risks to the health of the baby or the mother. The additional goal is to provide adequate support to help parents adjust to their new role. Key objectives during pregnancy include cultivating the parents' connection with the unborn child and encouraging the development of a support network for the new family through the parents’ existing social connections.

The main idea of the anticipatory child welfare notification is to give social services an obligation to act before the child is born. In situations where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the family needs supportive child welfare measures immediately after birth, social services and child welfare services must receive information about the child being born sufficiently early. This way, the necessary services can be planned in advance—together with the new parents. It’s worth remembering that if concerns about the parents or the unborn child are less severe, one can reach out to Family Social Work under the Social Welfare Act.

To determine whether an anticipatory child welfare notification is needed, the following questions can guide the decision-making process:

Is the unborn baby safe? Would it feel safe and appropriate to discharge the mother and baby home after birth? Can the parent(s) independently care for the newborn in a way that ensures the baby’s safety and meets the baby’s needs?

If an anticipatory child welfare notification is made for an unborn child, an assessment will be conducted to determine whether there are other children in the family and if they also require attention through a child welfare notification.

It is recommended to consult the on-call/emergency child welfare unit (Finnish: lastensuojelun päivystys) before making a notification. Anticipatory child welfare notifications should be submitted using the form from the on-call/emergency child welfare unit during office hours. Contact information and the form can be found at luvn.fi.

Sähköinen ennakollinen lastensuojeluilmoitus(external link)