Fight for seven years to meet the grandchild – found out in court – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio

The grandmother in Sunnmøre raised the flag when the Supreme Court ruled in her favor last summer. Then she was right that as a grandmother she can demand to see her grandchild, even if the child is in foster care. But the joy over the victory was soon reversed. However, the child protection service refused to send the seven-year-old girl to visit her grandmother. This led to the grandmother taking legal action against the child welfare services. And this week she was supported in the Møre and Romsdal district court. – I thought that I had finally won and was granted all my wishes. It was absolutely fantastic, I was so happy, we raised the flag, smiles the grandmother to news. In the judgment, it is established that the grandmother has the right to meet her grandchild for three hours 12 times a year. Without supervision from child protection. news has chosen to anonymize the woman, out of concern for the grandchild. The grandmother enjoys reading to her grandson. She is now seven years old. The last time she visited, she was a baby. Photo: Hans-Olav Landsverk / news – Unnecessarily problematized as difficult for the child It has been a long battle to be able to meet the grandchild again. Both the child welfare services and the foster parents believe that it is not good for the little girl to meet her biological family too often, and that it is a strain on the child. They have reported unrest and confusion when the girl has been with her parents a few times a year. Children’s welfare therefore considered it as such that the girl should not visit her grandmother: This was first supported by child welfare in the county board. The same was said during the trial in Møre and Romsdal district court last week. But the majority in the court did not agree: “On the other hand, it seemed that this was being unnecessarily problematized as difficult for the child by both the child protection service, the foster parents and by the expert”. Reidar Andresen is a lawyer for child protection. news has not been able to get any comment from him. Lawyer Reidar Andresen has represented the child welfare services in Sunnmøre in all court cases. news has not been able to get any comment from him. Photo: Hans-Olav Landsverk / news Expect consequences for Norwegian child welfare It is not the first time that critical questions have been asked of Norwegian child welfare. Norway has been criticized several times by the European Commission for placing too little emphasis on foster care children’s rights to know their biological family. Professor Trude Haugli at the University of Tromsø is an expert on issues of contact. She believes that the verdict in the Supreme Court last summer will have major consequences for Norwegian child protection. – Yes, I think so. I think there will be more emphasis on family ties in the future, in line with the signals from the European Court of Human Rights. Family is not just parents, but also grandparents and siblings, she told news when the verdict was handed down. Trude Haugli is a professor at the University of Tromsø and an expert on contact issues. Photo: Linn Blomkvist Hoping to help others The grandmother was babysitting the summer day in 2015 when the police came to pick up the dark-haired baby girl. She had not yet turned three months old when the child protection agency decided that she could not live at home with her parents. Now the grandmother hopes that she will soon be visited by her grandson. She makes plans to swim, cycle, bake and go on a cabin trip with the little girl. She is constantly contacted by other grandparents who are not allowed to see their grandchildren, and hopes that the trials she has been through will help more people. – I hope that they can experience such happiness as I have had. I know how painful it is for many people and how painful it has been for me. Maybe I can help someone to have faith, she says. The judgment is not legally binding. The grandson now lives in a foster home some distance away from his grandmother. When she comes to visit, both a rolling suitcase and a new pencil case are waiting. Photo: Hans-Olav Landsverk / news



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