Department of Child Welfare Services

The department works to implement the same level of services throughout the country, and to ensure that adequate consideration is given to legal protection, legitimacy, equality in treatment, diversity issues and the use of high-quality administrative procedures within these services. This entails the development of child welfare legislation, policy design, and the overall administration and coordination of the services. 

Vulnerable children and young people need care and protection in order to cope constructively with their daily lives and develop their abilities. The department works to enhance the quality of the child welfare services and the knowledge-based framework underlying the measures provided, and to promote wide-ranging availability of services, user participation and the provision of equal services in all regions. The objective is to achieve child and youth services that provide knowledge-based care and treatment programmes employing high-quality, differentiated child welfare measures adapted to the needs of the individual child.  

The department is divided into three sections:

• Section for Administration and Coordination
• Section for Child Welfare
• Section for Child Welfare Law  

Areas of responsibility include: 

• Administration and coordination between central and local government
• Coordination of services
• Child welfare service structures
• Foster care
• Inspection and supervision
• Competence development
• Help measures
• Child welfare institutions
• Legal rights
• Migration and minorities

The department administers the legislation of the Child Welfare Act. 

Associated agencies: 

• Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir) (areas within the Ministry’s sphere of responsibility)