THE ESBJERG CASE – SEVERE CRITICISM FOLLOWING A MONITORING VISIT LONG STAYS AT CRISIS CENTRE On 2 February 2015, the other case report following the monitoring visit in Esbjerg was made public. As well as in the first case report, the Ombudsman expressed serious criticism of Esbjerg Municipality’s case processing. The Ombudsman stressed the importance of emergency placements being as brief as possible even though the legislation does not stipulate an upper limit. The Ombudsman stated that because of its temporary nature, among other things, a crisis centre cannot be considered as the placement facility best suited to fulfil a child’s needs in the long run. Therefore, in consideration of the child’s best interest, a municipality has to make a decision about a possible continued placement as soon as possible. At the same time, serious criticism was expressed because six children had been living at ‘Nordstjernen’, thereby awaiting a clarification of their future, for 1-2½ years. Furthermore, the Ombudsman found that it would have been advisable if Esbjerg Municipality had opened more crisis centres at an earlier stage, since ‘Nordstjernen’ had been overcrowded for at least 18 months. As more than 18 months had passed since the monitoring visit in April 2013 at Esbjerg Municipality, the municipality was asked to provide information on how long the children presently living at ‘Nordstjernen’ had been there. The municipality was also asked if the crisis centre had been overcrowded within the last 12 months. Because of the seriousness of the case, the municipal council, Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, Parliament’s Social Affairs Committee, and the Ministry of Children, Gender Equality, Integration and Social Affairs were also informed about this case. 53