For ten years, the number of child protection notifications in Finland has been climbing by several thousand annually. Yet the precise sources of these reports have remained largely obscure.

It now appears that schools are the main source of child welfare reports.

In 2024, more than 115,000 reports were filed, up from some 87,000 in 2020.

Schools are among the most frequent sources. In Helsinki, the leading reasons cited were parental substance abuse and persistent truancy.

Jonna Raikio, who heads child protection social work in Helsinki, noted that schools rank among the most active reporters.

Among roughly 20 categories of reporters, the education sector has seen the fastest rise in its share of cases in Helsinki.

“In Helsinki, child protection notifications filed by schools rose by 17 percent last year compared with the year before,” Raikio said.

Tiina Muinonen, a senior official at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, confirmed that child protection notifications have been climbing across Finland in recent years.

Over time, the threshold for reporting has been lowered and the obligations tightened. The Child Welfare Act specifies which institutions are legally bound to report, although in principle, anyone can file a notification with the authorities.