Youth substance abuse treatment in Finland preliminary remarks

1
Youth substance abuse treatment in Finland -
preliminary remarks

• Taru Kekoni, Researcher, University of Tampere,
  Department of Social Policy and Social Work
• Together with
• Tuija Eronen, Licentiate of Social Sciences,
• Social Worker Specialised in Child Protection
  Issues
• Tarja Pösö, Professor of Social Work, University
  of Tampere, Department of Social Policy and
  Social Work

2
Background

• The motivation for this paper comes from two
  different observations
• 1) the concern expressed in Finland about the
  extent of the misuse of alcohol and drugs among
  children and young people
• 2) treatment practices tend to approach youth
  substance abuse as a non-distinctive issue
  however, there are some self-evident tendencies
  to increase practises of 'closed residential
  care' in treatment of youth substance abuse

3
The aim of the paper is

• To present the main approaches in Finland for the
  treatment of youth substance abuse
• To discuss the present tendencies in treatment
  and their implications for understanding youth
  substance abuse
• To present the research idea that introduces the
  practices of child protection on the research
  agenda of substance abuse treatment

4
The main forms of treatment of youth substance
abuse

• Prevention and education
• Guidance, therapy
• Specialised forms of treatment
• However, the serious forms of substance abuse are
  to be looked after by child protection
  (non-specialised forms of treatment)

5
The Finnish Law of Child Welfare

• The Child Welfare Act (1983) asks the social
  welfare authorities to intervene "if the child
  or young person threatens his/her health and
  development through the misuse of drugs and
  alcohol"
• The forms of interventions may vary from social
  support to out-of-home placements
• distinction between specialised and
  non-specialised youth substance abuse treatment

6
The Child Welfare interventions

• Open care
• Taking into care foster care residential care
• High number of residential placements
• The changing pattern of intensive closed care -
  erityinen huolenpito
• The changing pattern of the provision of
  residential care the treatment of youth
  substance abuse in closed care as a target for
  the private markets of institutional care

7
The profile of Finnish ways of treatment of youth
substance abuse

• Welfare protection
• non-specialised treatment
• hidden changes

8
Conclusions

• By this paper we want to raise the child welfare
  practises and the hidden changes taking place in
  those practises into focus of discussion.
• Are practises of child protection, 'closed care'
  and 'private markets of institutional care' worth
  studying in relation to youth substance abuse and
  it's treatment?