Arctic childhoods:Evidence based cultural sensitive practice for Sami children in Norway

Norwegian Child welfare service have, according to international laws, an obligation to outline a cultural sensitive service for the Indigenous Sami population in Norway. The national public health administration and... [ view full abstract ]

Norwegian Child welfare service have, according to international laws, an obligation to outline a cultural sensitive service for the Indigenous Sami population in Norway. The national public health administration and researcher have a coincident interest to fulfill these rights. Today there are lack of data to support, improvement, and ensure cultural sensitive services.

The objects 1) To describe the reason for the lack of data. 2) To outline how better data can be used by the government and the researcher to support, improve and ensure cultural sensitive services.

• Description of the reason why it is a lack of data: In Norway the service for the majority and the minority are totally integrated. It is one gate in, and the common system expects to serve all children and families, no regards of ethnic, cultural, and religious background. This joint system establish a homogeneity in the provided assessments, but might fail to distinguish when necessary. The law prevent the services to categories children and families according to ethnicity. Therefor the national databases have some sever limitation when it comes to illuminate quality of life for Sami children and families. To receive data a collaboration between researchers and government is necessary.

• Data in order to support, improve, and ensure cultural sensitive services: In Norway we need to identify relevant indicators that is relevant to the Indigenous Sami children and families. The indicators must include aspects that researcher has identified as vital to public health for the Sami population such as identity, positive future prospective, violence, and conflicts. The data have to assess the quality of the service in order to assist betterments. It also have to be useful for researcher to get an over view over the status for Sami children, and an able researchers to follow the developments in child welfare cases.