Details

The Inquiry was set up to make possible an understanding of the neglect and violence that occurred in Finnish out-of-home child welfare care during the period of Finland's first Child Welfare Act (1937– 1983).

The aims were

1. to produce knowledge about the nature of the neglect, abuse and violence experienced in out-of-home care, and the mechanisms behind their disclosure and intervention;
2. to bring to light the neglect, abuse and violence that occurred in the past and show that it is not acceptable;
3. to suggest structures and routines that help ensure that mistakes made in the past in out-of-home child welfare care can be avoided today and in the future.

The scope of the Inquiry included both foster homes and institutions, and included children placed in out-of-home care by their own parents.

The Process
The Inquiry was based on a testimony-driven approach. Participants learned of the inquiry through the media, the project website, and brochures. There was an explicit commitment to listen to the testimonies of victims/survivors, and great emphasis was placed on the role and significance of lived experience. The interviews were transcribed and strictly anonymised.

Interview material was analysed as life stories, using the methodological tools provided by oral history, and complemented with historical contextualization.

Governing Authority
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

Private Sessions
299 people were interviewed, most of whom had themselves experienced neglect in family care, in orphanages or in school homes. People who had worked in child protection or had some other connection with the situation also participated in the interview process.

The interviews were conducted by interviewers in pairs, using a semi-structured questionnaire. They took place in private homes or locations nearby, lasting from one to five hours and conducted in Finnish or in Swedish, according to the choice of the interviewee. The interviewees could also choose if their interviewers were men or women.

Research
The Inquiry took the form of commissioned research, conducted by a team at the University of Jyväskylä.

Witnesses
Most of the experiences related by the interviewees date to the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with those of women being slightly over-represented. Many informants not only recounted their personal experiences but also told about their friends, siblings, and other people.

Findings
The Inquiry revealed a wide spectrum of neglect, abuse, and violence in children’s out-of-home care in the period 1937-1983, perpetrated in all forms of out-of- home care, in various types of institutions as well as in foster families. It revealed an institutional culture of violence prevalent in children’s out-of-home care, and a striking amount of physical violence in foster families. Appeals by children to the authorities were typically ignored, and the neglect and abuse continued. The impact of abuse and neglect encroached on most areas of the lives of the care-leavers interviewed, including interpersonal relationships and mental and physical health.

Recommendations
The Inquiry report noted that since the survey period (1937-1983), there have been considerable changes in Finnish society and its child protection (including through legislation and in professional child protection practices), and it was not possible to make recommendations based on direct interpretations of the current situation. In this light, eight recommendations reflecting ethical principles based on the survey were made regarding out-of-home placement and foster care of children:

1. The child must be heard and told as openly and honestly as possible about matters related to the placement and what will happen in their life.
2. It must be possible to choose the place of placement in such a way that it offers the child a safe and violence-free growth environment.
3. The importance of family relationships for children should be respected and, along with parental relationships, the preservation of sibling relationships should be cherished.
4. In foster care, systematic tools and operating models for identifying and intervening in violence and abuse must be developed and implemented.
5. Supervision of foster care places must be regular and efficient and include meeting and hearing the children.
6. Providing adequate aftercare and support is essential after the end of the placement.
7. Professional help and peer support should be available to deal with traumatic childhood experiences.
8. The implementation of recommendations regarding the correction of deficiencies in child welfare and foster care must be regularly monitored.

Related Inquiries
The Swedish Inquiry formed an important point of reference for the inquiry process in Finland.

Inquiry Panel

• Haikari, Janne
• Hytönen, Kirsi-Maria
• Koivisto, Johanna
• Kuronen, Marjo
• Malinen, Antti
• Salenius, Paula