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Children and young persons placed outside own home

These statistics highlight the activities of municipal authorities’ placements of children and young people in out-of-home care (pursuant to sections 52, 58, 75 and 76 of the Consolidation Act on Social Services, section 74 of the Criminal Code, section 78 of the Penal Code Enforcement Act, sections 765 of the Administration of Justice Act and section 36 of the Aliens Act and section 14 of the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act). These statistics are used to explain the extent of placement of children and young people outside their own homes. The figures are comparable from 2011 and onwards.

Statistical presentation

The statistics contain yearly estimates of the municipalities’ initiated placements and placements of children and young persons in out-of-home care. The figures are classified by provinces, municipalities, type of measure, place of accommodation, cause of placement in out-of-home care, cause of change in the placement of out-of-home care, sex and age groups. The statistics are published in StatBank Denmark and in a NYT article, authored in Danish, by Statistics Denmark.

The municipalities have not indicated that data, regarding placements of children in out-of-home care for the period 2020-2021, are affected by the special circumstances that arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Statistical processing

Data for these statistics are continually collected from the administrative municipalities. The collected data is then subjected to a meticulous validation process in cooperation with the municipalities. All of the municipalities receive feedback sheets, representing the scope and nature of the reported data, which need to be approved by the municipalities. Data is subsequently gathered in an incident register which forms the basis for a creation of a progress register and a status/stock register.

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Relevance

The statistics are used by municipalities, provinces, ministries, the media, researchers, private individuals and organizations. The statistics are used for public planning and administration, research, public debate and education.

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Accuracy and reliability

The statistics showcase all placements of children and young persons (aged 0-22 years) in out-of-home care. There can be a few missing observations or observations with missing information. Such errors are minimized by the yearly validation process in cooperation with the municipalities. The validation process involves correcting errors and inconstancies and ultimately approving the reported data by the municipalities. The statistics also contain data on foreign children and youth, who are located in Denmark. Foreign citizens, located in Denmark, are included in the statistical tables published in Statbank Denmark, even if they do not have a CPR number (social security number). Changes in placements of out-of-home care are generally underestimated.

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Timeliness and punctuality

These statistics are published 6 months after the end of the reference period. The statistics are published without delay according to the scheduled release date.

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Comparability

The statistics are comparable from 2011 and onwards.

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Accessibility and clarity

These statistics are published in a Danish press release, Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik. The figures are also published in Statbank Denmark in Disadvantaged children and young people Further information can be found at the webpage of the statistics Udsatte børn og unge or by contacting Statistics Denmark directly.

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