46 Stendi Nymogården In November, the Ombudsman visited six sections within the Stendi Nymogården child welfare insti­ tution. The sections are long-term sections within child welfare and accept adolescents from all over the country. Two of the sections are authorised for accepting adolescents that are placed without their consent. At the time of the visit, only one adolescent was staying in four of the six sections visited. Some of the adolescents we met had minimal contact with their peers and were offered little or no schooling or activities. In total, there was reason for concern that Nymogården at the time of the visit, did not manage to eliminate the isolation-like conditions in which the adolescents under enforced placement lived, nor did they manage to encourage a positive ­development in the adolescents that had been placed there. Such conditions can lead to breaches of a child’s rights according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and lead to a risk of inhuman and degrading treatment. Despite the fact that the staff were trained to prevent and handle escalating situations, several members of staff expressed that they were not confident to use physical coercion on adolescents in acute situations. Our findings revealed a risk that adolescents placed under enforced terms at Nymogården were not met with the same trauma awareness and competence as children voluntarily placed there. Adolescents with complex challenges appeared to have been placed in sections that were not properly prepared for – or had the competence to meet their needs. Findings from the visit led to particular concern that adolescents placed under enforced terms experienced that they only to a limited degree were allowed to influence small and major decisions affecting them, and it appeared that NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN National Preventive Mechanism ANNUAL REPORT 2020 staff members had great difficulty in establishing cooperation with the adolescents. There was a high rate of staff turnover and a lack of stability in the shift teams in several sections. This created a risk of not being able to get to know the adolescents or to plan activities. The instability also led to a lack of continuity in the environmental therapy treatment and reduced the institution's ability to work on preventing coercion. A lack of competence and instability in personnel groups led to further vulnerability for adolescents who live alone with adults. The adolescents appeared to be aware of their right to appeal to the County Governor, both regarding the use of coercion and other issues at the institution. However, during the visit it became apparent that one of the adolescents was refused private communication with a legal representative, the County Governor and the Ombudsman. Depriv­ ing adolescents of confidential contact with legal representatives and appeal bodies is a serious breach of the adolescents’ legal safeguards. It is particularly concerning that adolescents placed under coercion, that are also subject to restrictions on freedom of movement, are exposed to such intrusive control and practice. In connection with the visit, it became evident that adolescents in two situations in 2019, had been placed in the prone position. This form of physical force is particularly high-risk. The grounds for two of the administrative decisions were inadequate. In both situations, the accounts indicated that staff had contributed to escalate the situation. One of the administrative decisions was overruled by the County Governor. This incident had been thoroughly reviewed with most of the staff, and the adolescent involved had received an apology. However, it was worrying that a staff member who had been involved in both situations had not