Children and young persons with preventive measures

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Personal Finances and Welfare, Social Statistics
Anne Morsing
+45 21 82 17 60

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Children and young persons with preventive measures 2024

The statistic shed light on the number of measures and support granted by the municipalities in Denmark to children and young people. Since July 1st 1998, the services have been granted pursuant to specific sections of the Consolidation Act on Social Services. Since January 1st 2020, the statistics have also included data on services granted pursuant to the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act. As of January 1st 2024, the relevant legislation has changed from the Consolidation Act on Social Services to the Danish Child’s Act. The statistics are comparable from the year 2007 onwards.

Statistical presentation

The statistic on supportive measures for children and youth are published annually and updated every year. It provides information on measures granted to children, youth, and families in need of special support, in accordance with specific sections of the Act on Social Services, Child's Act and the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act. The statistic includes data on the number of measures and the number of recipients, distributed by age, sex, type of measure and municipality or province. The statistic is published in StatBank Denmark and in the publication “Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik”.

Statistical processing

Data for these statistics are collected from the municipalities in Denmark. The data is gathered from municipal IT systems or via a web-based register system provided by Statistics Denmark. Subsequently, the data collected from the municipalities are linked with active measures already present in the register of Statistics Denmark. All data are compiled in a register containing all individuals who, at some point during their first 23 years of life, have received support pursuant applicable legislation. The reported data are validated in cooperation with the municipalities.

Relevance

The statistics are utilized by citizens, researchers, municipalities, government authorities, and organizations for various purposes such as analysis, research, public debate, and more.

Accuracy and reliability

As municipalities utilize various digital systems for data reporting and transmission, the registration of data regarding preventive measures lacks systematic and uniform consistency. Municipalities may register the same case or measure under different sections and subsections of legislation. The extent of such practices is not fully known.

Data concerning § 54 of the Act on Social Services / § 75 of the Child's Act, as presented in StatBank Denmark, are slightly underestimated compared to the data contained in the registry. This discrepancy arises from issues described in section 3.5.

Timeliness and punctuality

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

Comparability

These statistics have been compiled since 1977, but due to legislative changes in 1985 and 1993, they are not strictly comparable over the years.

Accessibility and clarity

These statistics are published yearly in a press release on support to the children and young at risk: Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik om Støtte til udsatte børn og unge. At the same time the statistical tables are updated in StatBank Denmark: Children and youth at risk. For further information, see subject page.