The Social Insurance Board (SKA) analyzed the quality of child protection work in 28 municipalities, focusing on families experiencing domestic violence.

Aasa Harjak, a senior specialist in SKA's legal and supervision department, highlighted deficiencies in assessing children's need for assistance, noting that shortcomings were found in all the municipalities examined.

"The quality of child protection work depends on how well the need for assistance is assessed," Harjak said, explaining that this process must evaluate a child's health, psychological state, education and cognitive abilities, as well as the family's economic situation and parental educational skills. Effective support can only begin once all risk factors have been identified, but if this assessment is not thorough, the assistance provided will not be adequate.

"Often, parents are not analyzed at all, yet a child's well-being directly depends on their parents' skills," Harjak added.

Another major issue, where violations were widespread, was the failure to document or even determine the child's opinion. According to the law, children must have a say in all matters affecting their lives, and the notion that a very young child cannot provide meaningful input is incorrect.

Harjak pointed out that a child protection worker, as a trained professional, should be able to assess even a two-month-old infant by evaluating the safety of their environment and the nature of relationships at home. In the case of a toddler with limited speech, their self-care skills can be observed as part of the assessment.

"For example, if a child protection worker receives a report that a mother is consuming alcohol, there are good practices where the worker immediately contacts the child's kindergarten the same day and requests a detailed characterization — does the child arrive well cared for, do they attend regularly, do they eagerly wait for their parents or seem afraid of them?" Harjak explained. "Determining the child's perspective is a broad and essential part of ensuring the quality of case resolution."

Another frequent violation Harjak pointed out was the failure to initiate case management network cooperation after an incident involving a child. This bureaucratic term essentially means that when a local government becomes aware of a child in need of assistance, it must immediately assess the situation and implement measures to improve it.

In reality, however, there have been cases where only a simplified procedure is initiated. For example, after receiving a domestic violence report from the police, a child protection worker may simply call the child's mother. If the call goes unanswered, the matter is considered closed.

Harjak acknowledged that situations where a child can be helped with just one intervention and the family then continues with their lives are rare in cases of domestic violence.

Some child protectors not up to speed on effects of domestic violence

The specialist emphasized that if one of a child's caregivers is a victim of domestic violence to the extent that their life and health are at risk, the child protection worker is required to initiate case management for the family without any discretionary power. Case management involves documenting all issues and risks related to the child, assessing the family's need for support and available resources, setting deadlines for implementing interventions and reviewing the effectiveness of the measures taken.

"Even last year, we encountered cases where child protection workers were unaware of the legal amendments," Harjak noted. "We also found a lack of understanding about what domestic violence means for a child and how deeply it affects them. One child protection worker even stated that the child was not in need of assistance because 'the father and mother hit each other, but they don't hit the child — they love the child.' This is not an appropriate attitude, as living in such an environment impacts the child's development and well-being, creating serious risks that can affect them for life. This must be fully understood."

As a separate issue, Harjak highlighted the tendency of municipalities to outsource a particular service and then offer it as a one-size-fits-all solution for all children in need. She gave the example of clay therapy, noting that while it is certainly beneficial, if a municipality purchases this service and directs all families — regardless of their specific issues — toward clay therapy, it overlooks other critical needs. A child may, for instance, require the help of a mental health nurse, rehabilitation services or a different kind of support.

"There can't just be convenient, off-the-shelf solutions. The focus should be on finding the specific assistance a child actually needs," Harjak stated.

At the same time, she pointed out that not everything depends on child protection workers alone, as is sometimes assumed by the public. Local governments must provide the necessary working conditions. If a municipality has only one child protection worker juggling three different roles, they simply cannot provide adequate support to all families.

Harjak also noted that staff turnover significantly impacts child protection work. When child protection workers leave their positions, new employees must take over their caseloads. However, the new staff members tend to focus on the most urgent cases, leaving some of the previous worker's unresolved cases indefinitely unfinished.

Despite these challenges, Harjak, who has worked in the field for seven years, acknowledged that child protection services have steadily improved over the years.

"Work with children has become significantly more systematic and substantive, with efforts made to avoid shortcomings and mistakes," she affirmed.

The Social Insurance Board (SKA) stresses that local governments must ensure continuous support for children in need, always prioritizing their best interests. To this end, SKA recommends that municipalities review their child protection work organization, seek consultation from SKA's child welfare department for more complex cases and take advantage of the free online course on handling domestic violence cases.

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