Expert Group on Children at Risk

About 

The Expert Group consists of senior officials from the line ministries dealing with children’s issues or designated agencies in the CBSS Member States plus the European Commission. The officials engage in regular exchange and practical projects to promote children’s rights and child protection in the Baltic Sea Region. 

The Expert Group on Children at Risk acts as convenor, driver, initiator, coordinator and facilitator to stimulate dialogue and exchange on cross-border concerns, to develop and nurture strategic partnerships and to contribute to the development and implementation of tangible projects and innovative practice.

We engage national, regional and global actors to exchange information on emerging, developing and ongoing initiatives, explore joint opportunities and engage key stakeholders in practical projects. This work effectively contributes to ensuring that potential overlaps are transformed into helpful synergies, trusted partnerships, and joint, harmonised action.

The Expert Group is the governing body of the Children at Risk Unit (CAR Unit) at the CBSS Secretariat. The Expert Group meets at least twice a year and develops the mandate, budget, and yearly plan of activities that are implemented by the CAR Unit.

Objectives

Our mission is to strengthen the protection and rights of children across the Baltic Sea Region through facilitating knowledge exchange, building joint initiatives and deepening cross-border cooperation. 

Our work draws on, and contributes to, relevant legal and policy frameworks, authoritative guidance, ethical and safe data collection and the voices of children and youth. We take note of relevant global, regional and the Member State’s relevant national agendas, goals and strategies, to ensure strategic direction, complementarity and added value in achieving commitments to children. The Expert Group and the CAR Unit at the CBSS Secretariat are fully committed to keeping children safeguarded from all actions that place them at risk of violence, abuse, exploitation, injury and any other harm.

The expert group’s regional Strategy (July 2025 – June 2030) has four priority areas:

• Promoting multidisciplinary and interagency services for child victims and witnesses of violence – Promotingcoordinated, child-friendly and professional responses that uphold the rights of children to protection, justice, recovery and participation. This includes strengthening multidisciplinary and interagency cooperation across child protection, justice, health and social services, with the aim of reducing re-traumatisation and ensuring timely, effective support. Work in this area includes the promotion of child-friendly justice approaches and multidisciplinary interventions, in cooperation with relevant regional and international partners.
• Non-violent childhoods – Preventing and addressing all forms of violence against children, as defined in Article 19 of the UNCRC, through prevention, early identification and effective interventions. This focus area addresses both individual and systemic risk factors and supports knowledge exchange on responses to domestic violence, physical and humiliating punishment, psychological violence, neglect, gender-based violence and child/youth criminality with an emphasis on prevention and early support.
• Sexual violence – Promoting comprehensive and coordinated responses to prevent and address all forms of sexual violence against children, including technology-facilitated and online abuse. This includes strengthening prevention, detection and professional responses to sexual abuse and exploitation, harmful sexual behaviour, child abuse material and trafficking for sexual purposes, while supporting child-centred, rights-based and trauma-informed approaches.
• Inclusion and equity – Promoting the rights of all children to non-discrimination, equal opportunities and meaningful participation, with particular attention to children in vulnerable or marginalised situations. This focus area addresses systemic barriers and aims to strengthen inclusive child protection systems that respond to the diverse needs of children, including those in alternative care, with disabilities, or facing heightened vulnerability or exclusion.

Background 

In 1998, the CBSS Heads of Government initiated regional activities on children’s rights as a response to the 1996 World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, which galvanised countries to improve the situation for children. A series of meetings and projects followed on the topics of sexual exploitation, trafficking, and more generally about how to enable regional cooperation on child protection. The results of this work convinced those taking part that they needed a sustainable platform to continue to exchange about challenges and best practices. In 2002, a secure website called the Child Centre (now retired) was set up to enable such collaboration. Simultaneously, a working group which had been establishing this website while also exchanging about their child protection work was transformed into a working group of the CBSS. A unit was established in the CBSS Secretariat which would maintain the secure website, and which would service this working group. The group would change names several times, and eventually, become known as the CBSS Expert Group on Children at Risk. 

Now with more than two decades of experience, the Expert Group is well regarded in the region and beyond for following emerging developments, spreading its promising practices, and enabling a robust and dynamic international cooperation supporting the rights of the child. Together the expert group has addressed areas of common interest, including transnational issues relevant to all Member States, by engaging ministries and national agencies, ombudsmen for children, academia, organisations, as well as children. A significant development in the fields of education, health and social welfare has taken place in each member state, and many children are relatively well informed and live in safety and security in their family setting.

Activities

We engage national, regional and global actors to exchange information on emerging, developing and ongoing initiatives related to children’s rights and child protection in the Baltic Sea Region. We support mutual learning through structured Member State dialogue and cooperation with civil society, international and regional organisations and networks, professionals and academia. This work is carried out in close collaboration with other units at the CBSS Secretariat and promotes a shared regional understanding of risks of harm to children. More concretely, our work includes facilitating dialogues and exchanges with the aim of identifying promising and good practice, building mutual trust and promoting a regional approach and culture on children’s rights and child protection. Noteworthy practice from the region is documented and disseminated through the online Registry of Practices. Guidance, analyses and other knowledge products developed through the CAR Unit’s and the Expert Group’s work can be found under CBSS Publications.

Documents 

• CBSS Expert Group on Children at Risk Mandate
• CBSS Expert Group on Children at Risk Regional Strategy

Members

The Member States are Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. The chairmanship rotates on an annual basis and follows the CBSS Presidency rotation.

Chair

• Poland: Michał Guć, Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy

Presidency Facilitator / Contact Point

•  Beata Kulig, Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy

Vice-Chair

• Iceland: Ólöf Ásta Farestveit, The National Agency for Children and Families

Members

• Denmark: Centre for Children, Youth and Families, The Danish Authority of Social Services and Housing
• Estonia: Social Insurance Board
• Finland: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health 
• Germany: Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
• Latvia: Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs
• Lithuania: Ministry of Social Security and Labour
• Norway: Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs
• Poland: Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy
• Sweden: National Board of Health and Welfare

Contact

Kadi Lauri, Senior Adviser, Head of the Children at Risk Unit: [email protected], +46 70 267 70 60.