ABSTRACT
In Copenhagen, a young husband and father of an eight-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter suddenly and inexplicably found himself a widower overnight. The earliest beginnings of a family-support program in Denmark took place before the American Revolution. By the beginning of the 1960s, a great deal of dissatisfaction with the existing form of family help had been generated in Denmark. As a consequence, there was much discussion and public debate, and the government set up a special commission to review the programs. The 1964 Child and Young Persons Act states that the Child and Youth Committees (CYC) of every township “shall be required to offer continuing guidance and support to all families with children who are supposed to be in particular need thereof.” In Copenhagen the 24 local CYCs limit their activities to protective services for individual children. This is the only township where the family-help program is separate from the CYC.
