perheelämän

Perheelämään is a Finnish term that appears in discussions about family-centered welfare and child protection. It is not a widely standardized term in national policy, but it is used informally to describe approaches and goals focused on living in a family setting rather than in institutional care. The phrase combines perhe (family) with elämään, reflecting an orientation toward family life.

In practical use, perheelämään can refer to strategies aimed at maintaining family connections, reintegrating a child or dependent into their family, or supporting families to provide a stable home. It is often encountered in contexts such as family preservation services, kinship or foster care with a long-term plan to return to the natural family, or transitional arrangements that prioritize family-based care over institutions.

The term has conceptual overlap with related Finnish welfare terms such as perhehoito (foster care), sijoitus perheeseen (placement in a family setting), and adoptiotyö, but it is not a formal policy label and its usage can vary by region or program. As a result, references to perheelämään are more common in descriptive materials, research discussions, or local service descriptions than in nationwide legislation.

In summary, perheelämään signals a policy or practice emphasis on enabling and sustaining family-based living arrangements, rather than institutionalized care, within the Finnish welfare landscape.