In Helsinki the most common reasons for alerts have been parental substance abuse and repeated truancy. For the past decade Finland has seen a yearly increase of several thousand child protection notifications. Until recently however the primary sources of these reports were not fully clear.
Published: 21/09/25 | 13:36
It now seems that schools are the leading contributors of child welfare notifications.
In 2024 more than 115,000 notifications were submitted compared to about 87,000 in 2020.
Educational institutions are among the most frequent reporters. In Helsinki the main grounds cited were parents’ substance problems and consistent absence from school.
According to Jonna Raikio, who is head of child protection social services in Helsinki, schools are among the most active in filing reports.
Out of roughly 20 categories of reporting bodies the education sector has experienced the sharpest rise in its share of cases in Helsinki.
“Last year the number of child protection notifications made by schools in Helsinki increased by 17 percent compared with the previous year,” Raikio explained.
Tiina Muinonen, who is senior official at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health also confirmed that child protection reporting has been on the rise nationwide in recent years.
The threshold for submitting reports has gradually been lowered while legal obligations have become stricter. The Child Welfare Act defines which institutions are legally required to report though in practice anyone can make a notification to the authorities.
