There are approximately 8,300 children living in foster homes in Norway. This is shown by figures from the Directorate for Children, Youth and Families (Bufdir). Nevertheless, the queue is long, and many little ones still need a safe place to live. But now a new survey shows that coercion in Norwegian foster homes is a big problem. Foster parents struggle to know where the line is. – The report says that the legislation and the systems in practice are not suitable to protect the children who are not well. That’s what Marius Storvik says to news. He is an associate professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Tromsø (UiT). There is no formal regulation of the use of coercion and other interventions in foster homes – in contrast to child welfare institutions. This is a foster home A foster home is a private home that cares for children who cannot live with their parents. Foster parents cooperate with the child welfare service in the municipality, and in most cases with the child’s family, regarding the child’s needs and the child’s future. 9,297 children aged 0 to 18 were under the care of the child protection agency in 2020. Free purchase means that the municipality buys one of the foster parents free from their regular job. During this period, the foster parents are compensated for their income up to an indicative ceiling of 6G a year, which corresponds to NOK 668,862 in 2022. According to the survey from 2018, free purchase was used in 44 percent of the foster homes, according to Faktisk.no. Read a foster home agreement here. Source: Bufdir Great collaboration The new study has been paid for and carried out on behalf of Bufdir. The work itself is a collaboration between Nordlandsforskning, UiT and NTNU. The data is based on surveys and in-depth interviews. The researchers have spoken to a number of actors, including children who live and have lived in foster homes, foster parents, supervisors and staff in child protection. A total of 1,270 foster parents have responded to an extensive questionnaire. In interviews, a total of 33 young people were asked to describe their foster parents. Most had good things to say. Many believed that clear rules were set, and that demands are made, but that the foster parents generally care. Nevertheless, the researchers find a number of exceptions. Marius Storvik is a lawyer and associate professor at UiT. He says the report highlights a worrying lack of clear and comprehensive legal regulation when it comes to foster home practice. Photo: Private surveillance and locked food “Gry” is 16 years old and says that the foster parents are much stricter than their friends’ parents. She says that she has different rules about inside time. And that the foster parents monitor her movements via Snap maps on the mobile. Another young woman, who is reproduced in the report, says that she was locked in her own room and deprived of her mobile phone. She is said to have been forced to sit inside the room for several days in a row. This must have been a consequence of her misbehaving at school. Other children have also expressed that they have been subjected to psychological violence and that they have been physically restrained. Both by foster parents and older children in the house. Some also experience getting food only at certain times of the day. A 17-year-old boy says that the foster parents locked food they did not want him to eat, which could be candy and snacks, in a room. And if he didn’t get home in time, they also locked up the leftovers for dinner so he couldn’t eat them. Many foster parents place restrictions on their children’s use of mobile phones and the internet, which raises questions about children’s rights in the digital age, the report states. Photo: NTB Theme – Requires immediate attention Marius Storvik believes that several of the above examples are problematic. He says the new report also shows significant weaknesses in the existing supervision systems for foster homes. – This has led to several unwanted incidents not being detected or addressed in time. The lack of effective supervision puts the children’s welfare at risk and requires immediate attention. Esben Olesen is a senior researcher at Nordlandsforskning and has led the project. He agrees that the supervision system is not sufficient. – The system has many errors and works poorly. Actors at all levels are skeptical. And the young people often do not trust the supervisor, and this leads to them not opening up about difficult incidents, says Olesen. He believes the whole system should be reassessed. Although it will not be easy to get the young people to trust the supervision service. Esben Olesen is a senior researcher at Nordlandsforskning. He says that the current supervision system in Norwegian foster homes works poorly in all aspects. Photo: Privat Takes the findings seriously – Bufdir takes seriously findings that show weaknesses in the scheme with a supervisor in foster homes. The report is an important knowledge base in the work to strengthen the legal security of children in foster care. That’s what department director in Bufdir, Anders Sunde, says. He further says that they will follow up the results through the further development of the training program for foster parents. The report shows that several of the children do not understand the system, and that they do not know their own rights. Among other things, the possibility to complain to the state administrator. – The researchers show that there is no clear understanding of the boundaries between boundary setting and coercion, and that there is a different understanding of which actions should give cause for concern, both among child welfare staff and supervisors, says Sunde. – Heartbreaking Tone Granaas is secretary general of the Norwegian Foster Home Association. She says the researchers have uncovered serious findings that must be taken very seriously. – It is certainly known that legal security for children in foster homes is poorly safeguarded, and that the training of foster parents is often deficient. This is something we at the Foster Home Association are clear about both politicians and authorities. – For children who live in an institution, the staff have clear laws and training regarding boundary setting and coercion. The same clarity is lacking in foster homes. And foster parents are often left alone, without good follow-up from a pressured child protection agency, and without this topic being highlighted or included in the training. Granaas says the stories that emerge in the report are heartbreaking. – I think there is a difference between those cases where foster parents are unsure and worried about the child and become overprotective, and those cases where children are locked in a room for several hours. But in any case, these are stressful experiences for children who have already had a lot of stress in their young lives. Clear training is needed here for the child protection services, foster parents and supervisors. Tone Granaas believes the findings in the report are very serious. She hopes action will be taken soon. Photo: Stig Jaarvik / news
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Researcher believes children’s welfare is at risk – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
