50 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 stjernen’ which is Esbjerg’s crisis centre and observation facility. At the time of the visit, ‘Nordstjernen’ had a capacity rating of eight children. Prior to our visit, we had given ‘Børnecenter Døgn’ and Esbjerg Municipality notice of our visit in writing. At the same time, we asked for a number of documents and information about the facility in general and about the children living at the facility. Among other things, we asked for information on the specific resident composition (gender, age, ethnicity), the legal grounds for the placements, action plans and development plans for the children, recent municipal inspection reports, guidelines for and statistics on coercion, violence and threats, the staff’s educational background and seniority and also the facility’s use of temporary staff. It is standard procedure for us to ask for such extensive information material. We do so because we believe it is important to show up well-prepared in order to gain the most from the visit itself. Therefore, we knew a bit about the children we might meet. We had also prepared the subjects that we found important to discuss with the management and the staff. Besides, the overall information material provided us with some knowledge concerning the municipality’s case processing in cases involving children. LET DOWN BY PARENTS AND THE SYSTEM The visit made a huge impression on the entire group. We knew from the information material that several of the children had a tumultuous background. This was also confirmed when we met the children and the staff at the facility. The children were placed outside the home as a consequence of parental substance abuse, mental health issues, etc. Unfortunately, it turned out that some of the children had been let down by the municipality as well. The information material which we had received prior to the visit showed us that the municipal case processing had been neglectful in several areas. Some of the children had been let down by the municipality prior to their placement, as the municipality had not intervened despite receiving serious notifications about the children’s conditions at home. Some of the children had been let down by the municipality after their placement. As a result, these children had been living at the crisis centre for 1-2½