Police suspect child welfare workers of neglect of duty after death of 4-year-old child

The National Bureau of Investigation said in March it had opened an investigation into North Karelia’s child protection services into the case.

An orderly house in Joensuu. — The family lived in this house in the Rantakylä district of Joensuu. Image: Lucas Holm / Yle

The National Bureau of Investigation suspects that child protection workers in North Karelia have failed in their official duties.

Their investigation concerns the violent death of a 4-year-old child in Joensuu in 2023.

The suspects worked in the front line of work in front of customers or as managers. The NBI says there is reason to suspect that nine people working in child protection services are guilty of dereliction of their official duties.

“Most of the nine suspects are in management positions and there are two social workers who work directly with clients,” the inspector said. Mika Paaso of the BNI. “It’s up to their employer to decide whether or not they continue their jobs.”

The preliminary investigation aimed to clarify whether the welfare service’s county child protection service and assessment of the need for child protection services were carried out according to the minimum legal standards.

In particular, police looked into whether the child had been personally assessed as required by child protection laws, according to Paaso.

The management of social workers and social work was another focus of the investigation. The case has now gone to the District Court of Eastern Finland for examination of the charges.

Neglect of official duties carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

In February the child’s stepfather Sebastian Simon Daniel Halonen has been convicted of multiple felonies, including aggravated manslaughter, narcotics offenses, and aggravated assault; and sentenced to seven years and nine months in prison.

The child’s mother Muusa Tuulia Katariina Rissanen he was convicted of grossly negligent homicide, theft and narcotics offenses and sentenced to three years and seven months in prison.

The family had been clients of child welfare services in North Karelia for years, prompting police to launch an investigation into the social workers in March.