1. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
Pål Christian Bergstrøm, Director general
1

2. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
15 years of Evidence based practices in children and
youth services – Norwegian experiences
1. The Norwegian child welfare system
2. The history and model of introducing EBPs in Norway
3. The child welfare reform, 2004
4. Evaluation
5. New direction – Draft White paper
2

3. Three levels of administration
– State level: Norwegian
Ministry of Children, Equality State
and social inclusion
level
– State Regional level: The
Norwegian Directorate for
Children, Youth and Family Regional
affairs (BUFETAT) is divided level
into five Regional Offices. The
County Governor monitor the
services.
Municipal
– Municipal level: 430
municipalities serves their level
inhabitants. (Average amount
of inhabitants = 5000)
(136 in inter-municipal co-operation
structures)
3

4. Three levels of administration –
responsibility by law
– State level: Norwegian
Ministry of Children, Equality State
and social inclusion
level
- State Regional level,
Bufetat:
• Give assistance/guidance to municipal Regional
level in difficult cases
• Recruit and train foster parents, provide level
general guidance
• Establish and run institutions Consultation teams
Municipal
– Municipal level:
Everything else! (investigations, level
assessment, assistance measures,
forward cases to County Social Welfare
Board…)
4

5. The Child Welfare Service in 2010 –
Statistics
5 mill. inhabitants in Norway
2010:
Near 50 000 children received assistance from child
welfare services (0-23yo) - 7% increase in one year
84% received voluntary assistance (in the family or as
placement outside the family) (up 8%)
16% care orders by force
Status:
Apprx 1150 children in child welfare institutions
(5-10 in prison)
Apprx 9000 children in foster homes
(770 in MST
4500 in PMTO)
 Huge turn in direction of assistance last 10-15 years, from institutions to in-home or
foster care. Political and professional advised development
5

6. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
Norway´s adoption and implementation of EBPs
• A case for change
• The 1997 EBP Conference – starting point
• Organizational and strategical approach
The National Center for Child Behavioral Development
6

7. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
Norway´s adoption and implementation of EBPs
Selected programs:
• Parent Managment Training Oregon – PMTO
• Multi-Systemic Therapy – MST
• Positive Behavior, Interactions and Learning
Environment in Schools – PALS
• Incredible Years
• Aggression Replacement Training - ART
7

8. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
Norway´s adoption and implementation of EBPs
National strategy:
1. Long-term funding of program implementation in the regional
and local services.
2. Establishment of a National Center to coordinate policy,
practice and research
3. A practitioner recruitment strategy for regular service systems
4. Comprehensive therapist/practitioner training, supervision and
maintenance programs. A prerequisite in the selection of EBPs
5. State Funding of research on child and adolescent behavioral
change and the implementation quality
8

9. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
Norway´s adoption and implementation of EBPs
Comments:
-weak on cost-benefit analysis
-Norwegian model top-down and bottom-up approach
-challenge to secure EBPs on local level (support)
-implementation approach variations for programmes
-adaptations needed for frame conditions
9

10. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
The Child welfare reform in 2004
• Establishment of Bufetat and 5 regions (reinforcing
the vertical)
• 26 Consulting teams on regional level
Objectives:
• Quality improvement, EBPs
• Improve cooperation with mental health services and
education
• Equal distribution of services
10

11. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
The Child welfare reform in 2004 – Evaluation
• A lot has been achieved
• Huge turn in use of services – from institutions to
foster care and in-family EBPs
• Rise in percentage of children in EBPs
11

12. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
The Child welfare reform in 2004 – Evaluation
Challenges:
• Recruitment of foster homes
• Underuse of EBPs
• Communication between Bufetat and Municipalities
• Equal distribution
• Narrow EBP target groups
12

13. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
The Child welfare reform in 2004 – Evaluation
Recommendations from evaluators to the Ministry:
• Establishment of one national agency – purveyor of
EBPs to both state and local services
• Intermunicipal cooperation
• Change financing structures
13

14. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
Direction of Child welfare services – Draft white paper
• Empower municipalities
• Clearify division of responsibility
• Change financial structure
• Reinforce central responsibility for professional
development in Municipalities - EBPs
14

15. Regional Office for children-, youth and
family affairs, Northern Norway
Conclusion:
• Implementation strategy (Needs, selection,
prioritizing, organizational model etc)
• Top-down and bottom-up have to match
(Competence building of service brokers, purveyors
and practitioners of EBPs on local level)
• Research integration – implementing and evidence-
basing
• Applicability of EBPs – Norway and Russia
15

16. Have a nice day!
16