Children and young persons with preventive measures

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

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Children and young persons with preventive measures 2023

The purpose of these statistics is to highlight the number of measures and support (previously called preventive measures) granted by the 98 municipalities in Denmark to children and young people, in accordance with the legislation on special support for this age group. These statistics have existed since April 1976. Since July 1, 1998, the services have been granted pursuant to specific sections of the Consolidation Act on Social Services. Since January 1, 2020, the statistics have also included collected data on services granted pursuant to the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act. In their current form, the statistics are comparable from the year 2007 onwards. As of January 1, 2024, the relevant legislation has changed from the Consolidation Act on Social Services to the Danish Children’s Act.

Statistical presentation

The statistics on supportive measures for children and youth are published annually and updated every year. They provide information on relief measures granted to children, youth, and families in need of special support, in accordance with specific sections of the Danish Consolidation Act on Social Services and the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act. The statistics include data on the number of measures and the number of recipients, distributed by age, sex, and type of measure. The data are also broken down by provinces and municipalities. The statistics are published in StatBank Denmark and in the publication “Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik”.

Statistical processing

Data for these statistics are collected from the 98 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. Each child or young person in the registry is updated with data reported during the relevant year. All data are then compiled in a register containing all individuals who, at some point during their first 23 years of life, have received support pursuant to the Consolidation Act on Social Services or the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act. The reported data undergo validation in close collaboration with the municipalities and are subsequently aggregated and supplemented with data from Statistics Denmark's population registry.

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 Consolidation Act on Social Services, 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.