Overview

• Youth welfare offices took 69,500 children into temporary custody in 2024, marking a 7 percent decline from the previous year and the first drop since 2020.
• Placements following unaccompanied entries from abroad fell by 22 percent but still represented 44 percent of all in-custody cases.
• In-custody interventions due to urgent child welfare endangerment rose by 10 percent, adding approximately 2,600 more cases.
• Self-referrals by children and adolescents increased by 10 percent, contributing around 850 additional placements.
• The average duration of these protection measures extended by 12 days to 62 days, with over three-quarters of minors placed in institutions and the remainder in foster or supervised care.