It was Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) who in her first New Year’s speech as newly appointed Prime Minister set the goal that more children should be removed by force.
The new agreement does not set a specific target for how often this should happen. According to Rasmus Kjeldahl, that is good.
According to the director, no fixed goals can be set for this.
But he shares the desire that it should happen more frequently than now.
– With the knowledge we have of terrible processes in children’s cases, and children who should have been placed much earlier, there is good reason to place more children earlier.
– But the quality must also be in order. It must never be a question of just screwing up the number, he says.
According to the director, the agreement strengthens children’s rights.
In addition, the agreement aims to increase the quality of case processing of child cases in the municipalities.
Mandatory sibling assessments are also introduced, so siblings under the age of 15 must be assessed if a child is removed.
Finally, the agreement makes it possible to make a decision on adoption before the child is born.
– With the new agreement, you can start preparing and find a suitable adoptive family, so that immediately after the birth you can ensure a final placement in a safe family.
– It will be good for the children and for the families who are around, to get peace and security as soon as possible, says Rasmus Kjeldahl.
In Mรธdrehjรฆlpen, director Ninna Thomsen calls the agreement “super good”.
– I think well that the agreement can lead to more placements, because you put in earlier and, among other things, look at siblings, as soon as a child has been placed.
– So it may well be the consequence, but it is not a goal in itself, and I am really happy about that, says Ninna Thomsen.
She can see advantages, but also disadvantages, in relation to the fact that one can decide to adopt a child even before birth:
– Immediately I can see something positive in the fact that you can start a placement or adoption case before the birth, so you avoid some very big conflicts.
– But conversely, you can also risk that if you start an adoption or placement case before the birth, the families will flee and go underground, she says.
Source: The Nordic Page