Stronger support through partnership – Tuusula and Järvenpää launch the SISUKAS inter-municipal collaboration

At its best, inter-municipal cooperation is more than just the sharing of resources. It involves the joint development of expertise, the strengthening of working practices and, above all, the development of better services. Tuusula and Järvenpää already have positive experience of running therapeutic-educational classes. Inter-municipal cooperation will continue through the SISUKAS initiative, which is now getting under way.

What is the SISUKAS model?

SISUKAS is a multidisciplinary operating model developed by Pesäpuu ry, a community dedicated to the development of child protection. The model aims to support the education and wellbeing of children and young people in foster care. The underlying principle is that a child has the right to the support they need, even when their life has undergone significant changes and their support needs have shifted.

The adults and professionals involved in a child’s life – such as those at school, in student welfare services, social services, foster care placements and carers – work together within the SISUKAS model towards a common goal. The focus is always on the child, their participation, their strengths and their individual needs.

SISUKAS strengthens systematic and multi-disciplinary cooperation. The aim is to establish a shared understanding of the child’s situation, agree on the responsibilities of the various parties involved, and identify timely support solutions. At the same time, it improves the flow of information and helps prevent situations where a child falls between the cracks of different services.

Our work is guided by, amongst other things, participation, a multi-disciplinary approach, a strengths-based approach, individualisation, safety and trauma-informed care, as well as the evaluability and effectiveness of our activities.

From an educational perspective, SISUKAS brings structure, coordination and expertise to supporting the schooling of children in care. The model enables a child’s strengths and support needs to be identified as early as possible, and cooperation between the school and the wider support network can be organised in a more systematic way.

Shared expertise across municipal boundaries

Tuusula and Järvenpää are strengthening their SISUKAS collaboration through a sharedn human resources initiative. The aim is to launch the roles of two SISUKAS teachers as a joint municipal initiative during the autumn.

SISUKAS teachers support schools in organising teaching and support for children in care. They strengthen schools’ expertise and promote cooperation between the school, carers and other parties involved in the child’s day-to-day life.

Collaboration between local authorities enables the sharing of expertise, the development of working practices and the drawing on of experience across local authority boundaries. The aim of this cooperation is to ensure that children in care have equal opportunities to receive the support they need and to progress successfully through their education.

There is already a solid foundation for cooperation

Tuusula and Järvenpää already have previous experience of effective inter-municipal cooperation, which has been carried out in areas such as the wellbeing of children and young people, support for school attendance and joint development projects. In the 2025–2026 academic year, a joint HoPe (therapeutic-educational) class run by Tuusula and Järvenpää was launched at Kalliomaa School.

Previous experience has shown that by pooling the expertise and resources of local authorities, we can achieve more than we could by acting alone. Through cooperation, it is possible to share good practices, learn from one another and develop services that benefit children and young people in the region as equitably as possible.

The collaboration is being launched with funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture

The project has received a government grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture, which will support the launch of this collaboration. The grant has been awarded to strengthen inter-municipal cooperation in the provision of basic education. The grant period runs from 1 June 2026 to 31 July 2028.

The grant awarded will be used to develop cooperation between local authorities, so that basic education is equally accessible to everyone throughout Finland.

This funding will help to build and embed a new operating model within local authorities’ basic education. At the same time, it demonstrates that cooperation between local authorities is seen as an important means of strengthening the quality, equity and accessibility of basic education.

Working together towards a more equitable educational journey

The SISUKAS partnership brings together two key elements: cooperation between local authorities and a child’s right to receive the support they need.

Further information:

Tuusula Municipality
Learning Support Specialist Anna Perhoniemi
anna.perhoniemi@tuusula.fi

City of Järvenpää
Head of Growth and Learning Support Miira Arminen
miira.arminen@jarvenpaa.fi

This content has been translated using AI