Bad News from Norway

Norwegian government giving up on poverty - at least for now

The current "red-green" coalition consisting of the radical left, social democrats, and agrarians found a common platform several years ago in the so-called "Soria Moria declaration" that among other things promised that poverty - as it is - would be abolished in Norway during their tenure.

Yesterday, the labor minister Bjarne Håkon Hanssen admitted that this was not going to happen. All he could say was that he "believed" there are fewer poor people in Norway now than before. The solution appears to be a set of programs that either put people to work or put them on long-term disability benefits.

Kindergarten spots? Never mind

Prior to the last parliamentary election, the Norwegian Socialist Left party promised that it all children would be guaranteed a spot in a kindergarten, with a three-month wait list. Aftenposten announced today that this promise is broken, as there is still an 11-month wait, and no guaranteed spots for Norway's kids.

Female drug users - especially if they're pregnant - more likely to be committed to institutions

Although female drug addicts comprise a minority of all drug addicts in Norway, they are much more likely to be forcibly committed than their male counterparts, even taking pregnant drug addicts out of the picture. Norwegian law only prescribes coercive commitment where individuals present danger to themselves, but researchers speculate that the social system is simply more offended by female addicts than male addicts.

Similarly, commitment by force is also far more likely for drug addicts than alcoholics. Norway also has the only law in Europe that allows for commitment to protect an unborn child, but this is applied far more often for drug users than alcoholics, in spite of evidence of grave danger to the fetus resulting from drug use.

Grim prospects for Norwegian foster children

Between 1990 and 2006, 120,000 Norwegian children were placed in the care and guardianship of public agencies, and the number appears to be rising. In spite of legislation that mandates better follow-up after these children reach legal age of maturity (18), this has been a badly neglected area. As a result, fully 75% of all former foster children receive social welfare assistance in the first 7 years of their adult lives. Their suicide rate is much higher than the population, as is their general mortality rate.