School of Social and Political Science

Description

This lecture focuses on the changes in Finnish child welfare and the ongoing reform in child welfare legislation. The goals of the reform focus on providing timely support for children and families, the reduction of out-of-home care placements, the participation of children and families and building trust in our child welfare system. The new social and welfare areas coming into effect in 2023 have created new challenges for organising child welfare services and ensuring the availability of social workers. There is a need to balance the resources directed to family services in social care and child welfare services. One example of this is the new regulation, which allows only up to 35 cases per social worker to ensure the best interest of children. The lecture will also introduce new themes in child welfare research.

Short bio: Riitta Vornanen’s research focuses on social work with children and families and child welfare. She is particularly interested in assessments in child welfare, interprofessional and interagency collaboration, community and in-home services in child welfare, and also out-of-home care in Finland.