By: Kiia and Ronja

Starting point: A woman who was expecting her firstborn child had a mental illness but during the pregnancy she did not take her medication. When the baby was born the mother was in psychosis. 

Child welfare actions. For the first couple of months, the family was in a family support center. Additionally, the child welfare services met the family. The purpose was to support the early interaction. It might have caused significant problems because of the illness of the mother. The mother was, for example, educated to understand why the child was crying. Later on, the child welfare services applied for daycare. At the moment support is provided by a Bachelor of Social Services. Collaboration is ongoing with the mother's psychiatric care facility. The parents realise the facts and we recognise them as well. 

The current situation. The two-and-a-half-year-old child seems to be developing normally and the mother's illness is under control with medication. At some point, the clienthood can probably be terminated. 

Investing in early years can go a very long way, says the social worker. 

Mari, Susanna, Salla 

A single mom of multiple children is applying to child welfare for help with the upbringing problems regarding her challenging teenager. The youngster has become very passive and the mother isn't able to establish any connection with them. The teenager ignores their curfew, escapes regularly from home, skips classes in school and hangs out in suspicious crowds in the shopping mall.

The family counceling clinic diagnoses the kid's behavior as mild depression. The young teen is granted access to the youth psychologist and support therapy, but goes there only occasionally, and eventually stops going completely. The mother, who is living under constant pressure and struggling between her work and family, feels overwhelmed by the situation.

When the child escapes and is then escorted back home by the police once again, everyone comes to the conclusion that the only way to secure the teen's act of becoming independent and studying is to take them into care.

the nurse in the child welfare clinic turns to child protection. Social workers begin to investigate the reasons for exceptionally defiant behavior.

little by little conditions at home are revealed; there is substance abuse, and there are cliques of power between them, and inflamed relationship patterns between different family members. The child's disruptive behaviour is eventually diagnosed by a psychologist as being symptomatic of the conditions in the home. The parents are unable to provide a stable environment for their child to grow up in and the child is taken into care.

A child who has just started preschool behaves defiantly and disruptively outside the home. He gets unrestrained and loud rages in public places. The mother has told in a child welfare clinic how the child terrorizes his parents and the parents have no means to control the situation.

The nurse in a child welfare clinic turns to child protection. The social workers begin to investigate the reasons for exceptionally defiant behavior.

The true home conditions are gradually revealed. The parents are drug abusers, they have cliques of power between them and inflamed relationship patterns between different family members. A psychologist's diagnosis is that the child's disruptive behaviour is a symptom of the conditions of the home. The parents can not provide a stable environment for their child to grow up. This will be secured by taking into care.