The foster care service in Harstad offers professional guidance and support within child welfare, family and cohabitation. The service aims to strengthen cooperation between different agencies when there are concerns about children and young people, and offers action cards as a tool in this work. In addition, they provide advice on communicating with children in connection with juvenile delinquency and offer subsidies for activities for children and young people who are at risk of exclusion.
The service also arranges conferences, courses and seminars for professionals, with a focus on equality and non-discrimination. The foster care service is subordinate to Bufetat, Region Nord, and recruits foster homes in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark. In addition to recruitment, they provide general training to foster families, and they collect statistics and analyses related to child and youth work. Every year, there is a need for over 150 children and young people in Northern Norway who need a new home.