Disadvantaged children and young people may be in need of specialised support such as consultancy services, educational or other support in the home, family treatment or help to solve their problems. They may also have a need for accommodation outside the home or an offer of practical training. The support for disadvantaged children and young people must be given at an early stage and coherently.
The objective is to provide disadvantaged children and young people with optimum conditions during childhood and adolescence, so that their possibilities for personal expression, development and health care are the same as those of their peers.
The viewpoints of children and young people must always be taken into consideration and any difficulties should preferably be solved involving the family.
For the purpose of improving initiatives, the government has now followed up the Foster Care Reform with the Children’s Reform. Wanting to improve initiatives for disadvantaged children and young children, we must ensure that high priority is given to children’s possibilities and situations.
The government will introduce additional initiatives aimed at children and young people who had a wrong start in life. The initiatives will focus on strengthening the personal resources of disadvantaged children and young people so they will be better able to exploit the opportunities in life – get an education, have friends and be able to socialise.
Vicious circle of deprivation
All children must have the same opportunities, and nobody should be denied a good life because they grew up in difficult circumstances. In 2006, the government published its forward-looking strategy Equal Opportunities for All Children and Young People to fight the vicious circle of deprivation. The government intends to offer the right children the right support at the right time. The government strategy aims to determine what activities have the best effect for each individual child, to strengthen coherent initiatives aimed at combating the vicious circle of deprivation across professional and sectoral borders and to develop tools targeted at early identification of children and young people needing help.
Documentation in relation to children
As agreed in the agreement on local government finances of 2006, the government has launched a partnership project across public sectors with a view to setting clear and adequate documenta