In Finland, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for the maintaining and developing family policy and the welfare of children, youth and families in collaboration with other government ministries. The MSAH area of responsibility in this concerns especially the development of social and health services and income security for families with children.
The main areas of emphasis by the ministry in this respect include:
- Problem prevention and providing support through sufficiently early action by primary services.
- Levelling expenses for bringing up children through financial support.
- Adjusting the working hours of parents in full time employment, to enable them to have more time with their children and as families .
- Family centres, which are a form of service under development to lower the threshold between services and so that services which support child development, problem prevention and solving are interlinked across different administrative sectors.
The new Child Welfare Act of 2008, designed to strengthen child protection.
The Ombudsman for Children oversees the implementation of children's rights
Finland became a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. The Convention is binding on the state, municipalities, parents and other adults.
In Finland, the Ombudsman for Children is in charge of overseeing the implementation of the Convention.
Advisory boards
The ministry's development work on child and youth affairs is supported by the Advisory Board on Early Childhood Education and Care and the Advisory Board on the Health and Welfare of Children and Young People.
