Evaluation of laws aimed at greater continuity in out-of-home placements among vulnerable children and youth

In 2009, the Danish Parliament (the Folketing) adopted a number of legislative changes to create a higher degree of continuity and stability for children and young people in placement. Five years after these changes, the Danish National Centre for Social Research has now conducted an evaluation on the implementation of the new regulations.
The legislation holds both potentials and challenges. The study shows that social workers are positive about the new regulations, but they are unsure how to use them. For example, one result of the legislative changes is that children can be placed in care for a longer period. The regulations therefore require social workers to make an effort and allocate resources to gain understanding and support from the biological parents. Because of this, and because of uncertainty as to whether a given case will be supported by the Child and Youth Administration of the municipality, social workers can be reluctant to apply the regulations.
Researchers suggest interventions which can help reduce social workers' uncertainty as to when and how they can use the new regulations. For example, researchers recommend professional support to interpret the regulations and to gain knowledge about the documentation required to start using them. Moreover, researchers recommend better frameworks to encourage knowledge-spillover between social workers.
This is the first report of three. The future reports will examine whether the new regulations create greater stability and well-being for children and young people in placement.