Accuracy and reliability

Overall accuracy

Statistics Denmark provides guidance and advice to municipalities on correct data reporting practices. However, Statistics Denmark lacks the necessary knowledge to assess differences in municipal procedures regarding measures and support granted to children and youth. To ensure uniformity in data transmission and reporting, municipalities are required to implement and adhere to the criteria outlined in the Databekendtgørelsen (i.e. The Executive Order on Data Transmission in the Field of Social Policy).
The statistics comprise data from all 98 municipalities in Denmark, with approved data being summarized. Municipalities employ different systems for registering cases and measures, which can result in non-uniform registration procedures. For example, one municipality may categorize a given measure under a section included in the registry of disadvantaged children and young people, while another may categorize the same measure under a different section not included in the registry. Data regarding paragraphs 57a; 57b; and 57c of the Consolidation Act on Social Services / 38, subsection 1; 39, subsection 1 and 130 in the Child's Act are underestimated, as they are not directly reported in all digital systems used by municipalities.

Data pertaining to §54 of the Consolidation Act on Social Services / § 75 in the Child's Act are also underestimated (see section 3.5).

At the release of the 2025 data it applies that:

• For a small part of statutory measures in Odense municipality (approx. 2pct.), the decisive causes have not been connected, as it has not been technically possible.

• For Frederikssund municipality, none of the statutory measures have the decisive causes connected

Sampling error

Not relevant for these statistics.

Non-sampling error

Municipalities are expected to report all measures granted to disadvantaged children and young people, but it is presumed that some cases may be missing. The validation process and yearly meetings with municipalities help minimize such errors. The municipalities' administrative system are designed based on the legislation so that relevant information is submitted automatically. The information can also be entered manually, which may lead to a risk of typing errors.

There may be some measurement errors in the period variable for the given measures. For example, a possible error could occur is a municipality records the date when the intervention is granted as the start date instead os the actual date when the intervention is implemented, which is the correct data to report for the statistics.

Individual municipalities are unable to specify the exact duration of measures granted pursuant to § 11 of the Consolidation Act on Social Services / § 30 in Child's Act. This is because the exact end dates of granted measures are unknown in cases where the measures are outsourced to non-municipal organizations, which municipalities are not obliged to monitor. In such cases, municipalities report the same start and end dates for the measures.

Quality management

Statistics Denmark follows the recommendations on organisation and management of quality given in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and the implementation guidelines given in the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF). A Working Group on Quality and a central quality assurance function have been established to continuously carry through control of products and processes.

Quality assurance

Statistics Denmark follows the principles in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and uses the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF) for the implementation of the principles. This involves continuous decentralized and central control of products and processes based on documentation following international standards. The central quality assurance function reports to the Working Group on Quality. Reports include suggestions for improvement that are assessed, decided and subsequently implemented.

Quality assessment

Data is generally regarded as reliable, although the quality of data on specific sections may be less accurate.

Quality is ensured, among other things, through the annual validation process with the municipalities, where all 98 municipalities receive a validation report with key figures from Statistics Denmark. The municipalities themselves assess the quality and approve the reported data.

The statistics are published annually, typically within 6 months after the end of the reference period. This ensures that users have up-to-date knowledge of municipal preventive measures and provides an overview of the scope and nature of support received by at-risk children and youth. The number of measures showcased and the count of children who receive one or more measures are considered more accurate than the quality of specific legislative sections. This discrepancy arises from differing procedures among municipalities in registering measures pursuant to specific sections of legislation. While the yearly validation process ensures precise data, minor fluctuations may occur due to occasional corrections to data from previous years. However, these fluctuations are generally considered minor, and thus the statistics are deemed reliable.

Se note regarding specifics mistakes in 2024 in section 5.1

Data revision - policy

Statistics Denmark revises published figures in accordance with the Revision Policy for Statistics Denmark. The common procedures and principles of the Revision Policy are for some statistics supplemented by a specific revision practice.

Data revision practice

The statistics are not revised, as the entire statistical series (all years) is republished with each release. The register are based on administrative data with retrospective updates, and the figures should therefore not be regarded as provisional, but as final figures for the individual publication. Consequently, the statistics are not revised but updated through newer releases.

Data providers may, for example, make daily corrections to previously reported data or add new information, and these changes will be included in the next statistical release. Retrospective updates to the data are expected, since the register contain sequences that may extend far back in time, but relatively few updates are expected for previous years.