The study by Petri Hilli, Anniina Kaittila, Minna Alin, Max Karukivi and Sanna Pahkala considered the costs of services, income transfers and lost tax revenue. The study highlights the costs to society as well as the losses to young people. For example, the income of joint customers at the age of 25 was 65 percent lower than that of those who did not use the services.
Researchers emphasize that the costs of services are not limited to age considered, but that joint clients are more likely to need services at a later age. They are expected to have lower employment and income levels than their peers. This results in income transfers and lost tax revenue for society also at the later age.
There is a need to increase the impact of the services. The number of clients in both child welfare foster care and youth psychiatry has grown strongly in recent decades. In 2023, there were 9,928 young people aged 13–17 placed outside the home in Finland, or 2.6 percent of the age group. In 2022, the costs of foster care accounted for three-quarters of the 1,33 billion € spent on child welfare.
Study (in Finnish).
Press release (in Finnish)
Although the integration of foster care clients into education and working life has been poor for a long time, a new innovative model is employed to try to improve the situation; social impact bond (SIB) has been launched in Tampere in 2021 just for them. The SIB’s goal is that 80 percent of the young people who participate in the SIB-program will receive at least a secondary education, and 80% will be in gainful employment or studying by the age of 25. On average, the corresponding figures for current services are less than 50%. The SIB will last 10 years enabling long-term support for multiple age groups.
The city of Tampere and the Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa pay success fee based on pay a performance bonus based on second- and higher-degree qualifications and earned income. The investment is expected to pay for itself not only humanly but also financially.
Young person's experiences (in Finnish)
SIB/City of Tampere (in Finnish)
Children’s welfare SIB home (in Finnish)
Children’s welfare SIB case study by European Investment Advisory Hub's Social Outcomes Contracting Platform, in partnership with the Government Outcomes Lab, University of Oxford Read more
Petri Hilli, CEO, QSA,
+358 40 754 2090,
petri.hilli(@)qsa.fi
