| By: |
Aapo Hiilamo (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany);
Ragnhild Fugletveit;
Joonas Pitkänen;
Margherita Moretti (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany);
Pekka Martikainen (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany);
Åsmund Hermansen;
Mikko Myrskylä (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: |
Background Country and regional comparisons of out-of-home care illustrate the
burden of care for the care systems and the individuals. We compare the
regional dynamics of out-of-home care in Finland and Norway, countries with
similar family service-oriented child welfare systems. Methods We followed all
children in Finland in 2011–2020 and Norway in 2013–2022 with 128 million and
133 million person-months linked to complete data from social care registers.
We constructed incidence-based multistate life tables to calculate the
lifetime risk of experiencing out-of-home care episodes, the expected length
of stay in care, and care leaving routes by NUTS3 regional units. Results The
lifetime risk of experiencing any care episodes before age 18 declined in
Norway from 4.5% in 2013 to 2.2% in 2022, but remained at around 6% in
Finland. In both countries, the lifetime risk was twice as high in the region
with the highest risk as in the region with the lowest risk. The lifetime risk
of entering residential care was four times higher in Finland (5%) than in
Norway (1%). The expected length of stay was higher in Norway (4.6 vs. 3.2
years), but was higher for residential care in Finland (1.4 vs. 1.1. years).
In both countries, half of children who entered care once returned home
without re-entry. Conclusion The risk of entering residential care is four
times higher in Finland than in Norway. The time children spend in residential
care in Finland may be reduced through effective early interventions and
prioritisation of family-based care. |
| Keywords: |
Finland, Norway |
| JEL: |
J1 Z0 |
| Date: |
2026 |
| URL: |
https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2026-001 |