Progress report on the implementation of the Child Strategy 27/9/2022
News
Measure 2:
A training package on child impact assessment, child-oriented budgeting and children’s inclusion, and support material for municipalities and regions
In the implementation of this measure, Kirsi Pollari, Senior Specialist in the Child Strategy, and Esa Iivonen, Senior Specialist at the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, have produced guidelines for municipalities and wellbeing services counties on how to carry out child impact assessments. As part of both publications, checklists have been made available to municipalities and wellbeing services counties on how to combat the negative effects of the coronavirus crisis.
The Child Strategy team organised a training webinar in spring 2022 with a focus on assessing child impacts from the perspective of wellbeing services counties. A video bulletin on child impact assessment, children’s inclusion and child-oriented budgeting will also be published in early 2023 for use by wellbeing services counties and municipalities.
The measure is closely supported by other measures in the Child Strategy, such as the training package (measure 26) and the measure related to child-oriented budgeting (measure 25). The Child Strategy’s handbooks on child impact assessment and consulting children for legislators are also part of the implementation of this measure.
Links to publications and the webinar
- Better decisions in municipalities through child impact assessment (in Finnish, valtioneuvosto.fi)
- Better decisions through child impact assessment – Child impact assessment, childoriented budgeting and children and young people as providers of information in wellbeing services counties (in Finnish, valtioneuvosto.fi)
- Handbook for law drafters on hearing the views of children (in Finnish, valtioneuvosto.fi)
- Handbook on child impact assessment for legislators (in Finnish, valtioneuvosto.fi)
- The webinar in Finnish with Finnish or Swedish subtitles available on Vimeo
Measure 3:
Preparing a report on the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on the maintenance of children’s close relationships and the protection of family life
Liisa Nieminen, Constitutional law docent and senior university lecturer at Helsinki University, studied the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on the maintenance of children’s close relationships and the protection of family life. The starting point of the extensive and thorough study was concerns that the exceptional situation may have undermined, amongst other things, the realisation of the right of access to a child, contact accordance with the Child Welfare Act, the right of children whose parents are in prison to meet their parents, and the status of children living in institutional conditions for various reasons.
Synergies of the Child Strategy measures
Despite the fact that the Child Strategy measures are each implemented separately, it is essential to take into account the collaboration and links between the measures. There are synergies between several of the measures, and it should be noted that they are mutually supportive and complementary. In terms of the measures, beneficial synergies have been found both within organisations and between different organisations. This has provided new perspectives and a deeper understanding of the importance of collaboration.
Further information
More information on the Progress reports on the implementation of the Child Strategy: Laura Kuusio, laura.kuusio(a)gov.fi