SDP’s Helena Marttila to Kokoomus: In child protection, we must stand with families – not corporate giants

According to Helsingin Sanomat election compass, Kokoomus (National Coalition Party) is the only parliamentary party in Finland whose candidates clearly oppose transferring child protection services back under public sector responsibility. SDP Member of Parliament Helena Marttila, who has professional experience in child protection social work, is calling on Kokoomus to prioritize the best interests of children over the business opportunities of major healthcare corporations.

Helsingin Sanomat reports that the growing concentration of services in the hands of a few large companies carries risks—for example, in terms of ensuring that children’s best interests are upheld.

“It is completely unacceptable that, in Kokoomus’s enthusiasm for private sector, even the most vulnerable children and young people are treated as pawns. The current situation, in which services are heavily concentrated among a few large providers, is not only expensive but also unfair to smaller domestic actors,” Marttila states.

According to Helsingin Sanomat, the cost of out-of-home care in child protection has nearly tripled over the past two decades. In 2023, Finland’s wellbeing services counties spent over €1.1 billion on substitute care, with nearly €600 million going to private companies. Marttila notes that even in Kokoomus-led Western Uusimaa, authorities have strategically increased public production in order to keep costs in check. She also points out that monitoring outsourced services comes with its own price tag.

“Money should go toward the well-being, rehabilitation, and long-term support of children and young people, not to the profit margins of corporate giants. Child protection should never be a business – it is a part of our basic social safety net and a shared societal responsibility. Every euro that ends up as excessive corporate profit is a euro taken away from children’s well-being.”

“The situation is particularly troubling when we consider the severe cuts to family services and preventive care made by the current Kokoomus-led government. Both research and common sense tell us that when families are under pressure, the need for child protection increases—along with societal costs, not to mention the human impact. Guaranteeing a safe childhood for every child must be a higher priority than corporate profit,” Marttila concludes.