The number of child welfare reports submitted on an annual basis to Finnish authorities has doubled over the last 10 years, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare said on Thursday.
There were a total of 110,000 such notifications in 2023, which means one in every ten children was reported to child welfare authorities.
Young teens drew the most notifications, with one in six 13-15 year-olds in Finland subject to child welfare reports in 2023.
The number of child welfare notifications has been growing annually, but last year's increase was exceptional. Reports for 13 to 15-year-old children numbered nearly 31,000, compared to 21,000 three years earlier.
In Finland, several authorities, including the police and daycare centres are obligated by law to make child welfare notifications if they believe there is a problem. In addition, anyone in Finland can make a child welfare notification.
Emergency placements were also up last year, with most of these cases involving 15-year-olds.
Laura Yliruka of the public health authority said that in some cases emergency placements act as an intervention to deal with a child's substance abuse. The number of children taken into care last year was at the same level as the year before.
Experts have previously attributed the increase in child welfare reports to lower reporting thresholds and broadened responsibilities of public-facing agencies.
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