Debate, Children and young people | No to child welfare institutions, yes to investing in children and young people in the local communities

I read that the Støre government now wants to transfer children and young people from the State’s child welfare institutions back to their home municipalities. This is very good! Through various media, we have gained insight into the fact that children and young people have started using narcotic substances when they have come to these institutions.

Unfortunately, that is also my experience through a long career as a special education teacher in Sarpsborg municipality.

Some young people I worked with in the school system started using drugs when they were placed in an institution! I got a boy back to Tunhaug school in the 80s. He had then lived in 26 different Child Protection Institutions and Foster Homes from the time he was 0 to 14 years old.

We had a plan made for him in Sarpsborg municipality with an alternative school offer at Tunhaug school, close follow-up by local child protection and not least the healthcare system. This meant that the boy sat for the ordinary exam, both written and oral! The boy is currently working, and he has started a family and is doing well in life.

So back to the challenges that Sarpsborg municipality faces when they eventually have to accept children and young people who have lived in the state’s child welfare institutions.

Then the school must be strengthened with skilled professionals, and not least the principals must be given solid budgets to run their schools with. Every student must now have their own arranged program according to the law!

We must not cut school budgets by NOK 19 million, as they have done in Sarpsborg municipality now. It is simply a disaster. And the worst thing is that this cut primarily affects children and young people who have special education. There is so much good talk about the fact that the “team” around the students is now to be strengthened with more professionals in addition to the teacher! The schools cannot afford this with today’s school budgets!

Support for cultural and sports facilities for children and young people must also be greatly strengthened locally! Culture and sport have saved many children and young people from perishing over the years!

Likewise, the Children’s Protection Agency in Sarpsborg must be strengthened with more positions, and Health must also be strengthened with more professionals, who can deal with children and young people with mental illness!

This is a cheap investment compared to repairing adults! And it can be extremely expensive, and we may not even succeed in this work either! “It is better to build children and young people than to repair adults”.

We have many, skilled professionals in Sarpsborg municipality now, but we need far more when we are to welcome these wonderful children and young people from the State’s Child Welfare Institutions here in our municipality, of whom we should all be proud!

Let’s now together create a good and safe offer for our children and young people. They are the ones who will take over society after us!