Statistical processing

Source data

Municipalities report information on notifications concerning children and young people to Statistics Denmark, which acts as the data processor on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing.

The Danish Appeals Board (Ankestyrelsen) was responsible for collecting the data from 1 April 2014 to 30 June 2016. Since 1 January 2016, most notifications have been transferred automatically from the municipalities’ case management systems to Statistics Denmark via a dedicated web API and related infrastructure. Previously, some municipalities also submitted data via an FTP connection.

Municipalities can access their submitted data through the information page for the statistics: oplysningssiden.

Frequency of data collection

Data is usually transferred daily, but few municipalities send data weekly, monthly or annually.

Data collection

Municipalities can report information on child welfare notifications via Statistics Denmark’s information page or directly from their case management systems through system-to-system reporting.

All notifications are collected daily in a front-end database connected to a web dialogue system. This allows municipalities to access their own data, make corrections, and delete notifications when necessary.

Data validation

The data are validated yearly. At the start of the validation process, Statistics Denmark sends validation lists and summary reports of the submitted notifications to the municipalities. The purpose is to ensure high data quality in collaboration with each municipality.

Municipalities review the material and assess whether the data accurately reflect the number of notifications they have received. If the data are correct, the municipality approves them. If discrepancies are found, Statistics Denmark and the municipality engage in a dialogue to resolve the issues until the data can be approved.

If a municipality cannot approve its data before the scheduled publication, the collaboration continues afterward to ensure the data are correct for the next release. As a general rule, non-approved data are still published, but with a clear note stating which municipalities have not approved their figures.

Data compilation

All child welfare notifications are collected in a single register, regardless of the reporting method used. Each notification must comply with the requirements set out in the applicable Executive Order on Data Reporting in the Social Sector, available on the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing. Notifications are described in Chapter 4 and Annex 3 of the executive order.

The standardization of data according to the executive order ensures straightforward integration and processing. Categories are already grouped at the time of reporting in accordance with the order, meaning no major calculations are needed for publication.

Notifications submitted before the category revision in 2017 are recategorised to align with current requirements. During the annual validation process, any errors are corrected.

Adjustment

Correction is not applied.