Highest increase among children More Kesb cases than ever before

The child and adult protection authorities recorded more cases in 2023 than ever before. The reason: more guardianships for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers.

The child and adult protection authorities recorded as many cases as ever in 2023. The increase in cases reflects social developments. More and more people need support.

In 2023, a total of 154,981 people were granted a protective measure by the child and adult protection authorities (Kesb), as announced by the Conference for Child and Adult Protection (Kokes) on Thursday.

Compared to 2022, an increase in cases of around 3.5 percent (plus 5516 people) was recorded. Society in general appears to need more and more help and Kesb is one of the actors providing this help, the report continued.

Highest increase among children

The authorities registered 6.5 percent more cases among children than in 2022, the highest increase ever. Specifically, at the end of 2023, 49,132 children were in receipt of a protective measure from Kesb. Children account for just under a third of cases.

The main reason for this increase was more guardianships for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, which must be ordered by law.

According to Kokes, there were also more court proceedings in which the parents had potentially conflicting interests with their children and therefore appointed their own legal representatives for the children. The authorities received more reports of children at risk, including domestic violence, children suffering from highly contentious parents or parents with drug or alcohol problems.

Demographic and social reasons

Two thirds of the measures were aimed at adults. The authorities supported 2.4 percent more adults than in the previous year. According to the press release, this increase is in line with the long-term trend and has both demographic and social reasons.

Because people are getting older, family structures are less close, adult children live further away, are professionally active and have time-consuming hobbies, care for the older generation is generally being provided less within the family. The state and the Kesb, among others, would step in and provide support.

According to Kokes, adults need the most support because of mental health problems or problems dealing with money or administrative tasks. The most common measure is help from a guardian.

When a guardianship is ordered, a private individual is appointed as a guardian in around 30 percent of cases. In the remaining cases, a specialist is used.