In 2014, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities issued a quality recommendation for child welfare for the first time (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Publications 2014:6). The quality recommendation has been now updated, taking into account the cooperation work for child welfare carried out under the Programme to address child and family services. The quality recommendation is intended to guide the child welfare work concerning families and children and to support its organisation.

The previous recommendation has been supplemented with quality criteria for substitute care and its monitoring. Multi-professional cooperation in child welfare work is now emphasised more than before. The recommendation supports the development of multi-sectoral team structures. According to the recommendation, the obligation to protect children is best met when there is cooperation and trust between the children and young people concerned, those close to them and the employees. A multi-professional team combines the support measures into a coherent service package that meets the needs of the children and their parents.

The recommendation describes the principles guiding the child welfare work by categorising them as follows: inclusion, service system, professionals and work communities in child welfare work, assessment of the need for services, and quality criteria for substitute care and its monitoring.

The quality criteria for substitute care was edited by Pia Eriksson, Jaana Tervo and Riitta Laakso (National Institute for Health and Welfare) and Susanna Hoikkala (Central Union for Child Welfare).