If a child or young person is harmed

Children who are harmed or at risk of harm are a shared responsibility of society. The social services have the task of finding solutions to enable children to grow up in a safe environment. Here you will find information about our work and how to contact us.

How to report a concern

Do you suspect that a child is being harmed? Or are you a child or young person being beaten, threatened or mistreated by your family? Then you should contact social services for help.

Before you report a concern, you can contact the social services to talk about your concerns. You do not have to reveal the identity of the child.

You can find a form for reporting concerns here.

The notification should be sent to the Social and Labour Market Administration, Östersund Municipality, 831 82 Östersund

You can also fax the report to 063-10 09 30 or hand it in over the counter at the municipality's customer centre or at the reception of the Social and Labour Administration.

You can also call the Customer Centre - see the contact details at the bottom of the page.

Good to know

You can report your concerns anonymously

As a private individual, you have the possibility to be anonymous when reporting a concern. The prerequisite is that you do not tell the social services who you are when you contact them - and that you do not reveal your identity in any other way, for example by using your e-mail address or telephone number.

Some professions have a duty to report

Many professions have a duty to report. For example, those who work in schools or child and maternity centres

Anyone who works in an authority that concerns children and young people or who comes into contact with children or young people in the course of his or her work must immediately notify the social services if he or she suspects that a child or young person is being harmed or is at risk of being harmed. The same obligation also applies to anyone working in private activities involving children and young people and to staff working in health and social care.

Obligation to provide information

The professions listed above also have an obligation to report. This means that they must provide information that may be relevant to the social services' investigation.

Family counselling staff must report immediately to the social services if they become aware that a child is being sexually abused or physically or psychologically abused in the home. However, the obligation to report does not apply to this professional group.

Confidentiality

The social services are bound by confidentiality regarding the personal circumstances of individuals. All staff are bound by professional secrecy.

Children's rights

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the rights of children. Sweden is committed to complying with these recommendations. The social services work from a general child perspective. This means that the best interests of the child must always be taken into account in measures concerning children.

Sidan uppdaterad 2022-12-14