Norwegian Child Welfare Services

The Child Welfare Services’ statutory obligation is "to ensure that children and youth who live in conditions that may be detrimental to their health and development receive the necessary assistance and care at the right time.

The Norwegian Child Welfare Services were established and regulated under the terms of the Child Welfare Act of 1992,[3] which has the purpose "to ensure that children and youth who live in conditions that may be detrimental to their health and development receive the necessary assistance and care at the right time," and "to help ensure children and youth grow up in a secure environment".

[1] The Ministry of Children and Equality (Norwegian Barne- og likestillingsdepartementet, abbreviated BLD) holds the chief jurisdiction over child welfare issues[4] and is responsible for developing regulations and guidelines, but is not involved in individual cases.

[12] Removing a child from the home without parental consent is a measure of last resort in cases of (justifiable suspicion of) serious neglect, maltreatment, violence, abuse, trafficking etc.

[14] In urgent cases (i.e. imminent danger for the physical or mental health of the child), the municipal welfare services are entitled (and obliged) to issue a provisional care order.

[17] Child Welfare Service employees are privy to a large amount of personal client information, and must comply with strict rules of confidentiality.

[18] According to figures provided by Statistics Norway, 36,800 children received measures from the Norwegian Child Welfare Services at the end of 2015.

The Norwegian Child Welfare Services are obliged to ensure the well-being of all children residing in Norway, irrespective of their (or their parents’) nationality.

[28] The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) have by 2019 accepted twenty six separate hearings against Norway for the activity of its Child Welfare agency since December 2015.

[30] However, on the 10th of September 2019, the Grand Chamber found a violation of Article 8 (the right to respect for family life) on account of shortcomings in the decision-making process leading to the adoption of a boy who had been placed in foster care in the judgment of Strand Lobben and Others v.