Placements costs in money but more in family sufferings

It’s been three years and I’m seeing the kids less and less frequently. It’s like the kids for cash, for-profit system in the US.

Six cities spend over 260 million on foster care in 2014

Total spending on child welfare services by the six-city group in 2014 was 329,878,580 euros. Helsinki forked out the greatest amount of money, nearly 126 million.

The report noted that, "The cost of placements are the largest item of spending in the total cost of child protection."

Altogether these six municipalities spent more than 262 million euros on placements in 2014, corresponding to 79.4 percent of child protection expenses.

To keep children in institutional or family foster care, Helsinki spent just over 100 million euros, Espoo close to 38 million, Vantaa 39 million, Turku 37 million, Tampere 27 million, and Oulu 21 million. With the exception of Oulu (35.8 percent) all spent well over half of these sums (60 – 77 percent) on institutional care.

Amount spent on placements

• Helsinki    100,630,286 euros
• Vantaa    38,761,057 euros
• Espoo    37,837,362 euros
• Turku    36,850,657 euros
• Tampere    27,218,908 euros
• Oulu    20,710,720 euros

In 2014 the average cost of keeping a child for a stint of alternative care in these municipalities was 51,174 euros; Turku paid most per child at 59,533 euros and Oulu the least at 32,822 euros.

In a separate data set, THL revealed that in 2014 Finland had a total of 89 child welfare institutions run by the state, municipalities or joint municipal boards. The total number of private care institutions and professional family homes was 615, while foster families and families providing care services by way of a commission agreement amounted to 4,290.

YLE 8.3.2016 Finnish child welfare: Child protection or "for profit" foster care?