To get documents from the police in Altinn, you must have special access. – And employees in child protection haven’t had that access, says Terje Næss. He is municipal manager for upbringing, education and culture in Lillehammer municipality. We are talking about a total of 35 documents from various police districts that have been sent to child protection in Lillehammer through Altinn between 2021 and 2023. These were not known about until now, and three of them are reports of concern. The documents still exist, but they have not been visible due to a lack of access to the system. Photo: Kim Jansson / news – Should have been aware of it The mistake has happened because the municipality simply did not know that you had to have that access, explains Næss. – It has been a mistake that we have not been aware of, he says. He adds that most of the contact they have with the police is through regular letters and meetings, but that there have been some digital documents they have not captured. RESPONSIBILITY: Municipal manager for upbringing, education and culture in Lillehammer municipality, Terje Næss, says they should have been aware of it. Photo: Privat / Lillehammer municipality In 2021, the police switched to using Altinn for digital shipments, but to a limited extent. – We should have been aware of that, and now of course we have corrected it. Fortunately, we see that the consequences have been limited, says Næss. It is the municipality itself that is responsible for allocating the correct access to employees. – In that sense, it is our responsibility to ensure that. But it was difficult to find the exact one, says Næss. – Extremely serious Head of Department at the Children’s Ombudsman, Ivar Stokkereit, says that undetected reports of concern pose a risk. This is because children living in unsustainable situations cannot have been caught and given the necessary help. – The fact that a child in a difficult family situation is not followed up can be extremely serious, says Stokkereit. SERIOUS: Head of department at the Children’s Ombudsman, Ivar Stokkereit, believes it is serious. Photo: The Children’s Ombudsman / Private The Children’s Ombudsman now expects the Directorate for Children, Youth and Families (Bufdir) to provide an overview of the technical challenges. – Bufdir should, together with the municipalities, ensure that they get an overview of this scope, and do everything they can to limit any harmful effects, he says. Bufdir informs news that they are aware of the problem from Lillehammer municipality, and that this will be included in the assignment they have received from the Ministry of Children and Families regarding the report on reports of concern. Applies to several municipalities Næss states that they have received confirmation that this also applies to other municipalities. – This applies to both Gausdal and Øyer municipalities. Then there is also reason to believe that it applies to even more, he says. This is because it is not possible to see for yourself whether you have the right access in Altinn. – The police have been aware that this has been a problem in some other municipalities in the interior, but not in Lillehammer municipality until now, says Rolf Thoresen, acting head of the joint unit for prosecution in the police. MORE: The police confirm that they are aware of this problem from other municipalities in the county. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news The municipality has reported the case to the Norwegian Data Protection Authority and the State Administrator in the Interior. – Our point now is to notify about this so that more municipalities can investigate whether they receive everything they should via the solution. Child welfare services must receive the information they need at the right time, says Næss. Have gone through the documents Child protection in Lillehammer has now gone through every document. Two of the three reports of concern have been dismissed, but the last report is now being followed up by child protection. Child protection itself considers that the consequences of the undetected reports of concern are limited. The error will nevertheless lead to a breach of deadlines in the Child Protection Act. In early June, Bergen municipality uncovered a serious failure in a notification system, which has led to messages of concern to the child welfare services disappearing. It was after this case that Lillehammer municipality wanted to examine its own systems and routines. The former case is due to an error in Visma, while this concerns access in Altinn.
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Child protection in Lillehammer municipality has not received documents from the police – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
