Camilla Mortensen has encountered fifteen different caseworkers in just five years at Holstebro Municipality's family department. Her experience reveals systemic failures affecting numerous families across the Danish municipality.
Thirty-nine different employees have touched her family's case during this period. Some merely passed it along while others provided actual case management. The constant personnel changes create exhausting cycles of rebuilding relationships and restarting proceedings from scratch.
"It's draining," Mortensen explained. "I constantly need to form new relationships with new people in the family department where we must start the case over each time."
Her situation reflects broader patterns throughout Holstebro Municipality. Many residents report cases dragging on indefinitely with unclear compliance to processing deadlines. Multiple families describe similar difficulties contacting caseworkers, extended decision times, and frequent staff turnover.
The municipality declined to comment on specific cases but claimed progress is being made. Officials stated case backlogs per employee have decreased.
Mortensen's involvement with Holstebro's family department began when her son developed school refusal syndrome. She initially sought compensation for lost income to ensure he attended school daily. The case now focuses on support hours for a boarding school placement.
Staff turnover data reveals deep structural problems. The family department experienced 36.9 percent staff turnover recently, representing 31 departures. Over recent years, 95 employees have left their positions.
Organizational researcher Ulrik Røhl from Copenhagen Business School identified this as a management failure. "This indicates challenges that individual caseworkers cannot solve alone," Røhl stated. "We cannot expect them to fix this. It's a management task and ultimately a municipal council responsibility."
The department has faced previous criticism. Denmark's Working Environment Authority issued orders against Holstebro Municipality after employees faced constant time pressure and excessive workloads.
Despite the high turnover, the director for Children & Youth Helle Støve claims working conditions have improved. She expressed regret about frequent caseworker changes but insisted the situation is stabilizing.
Current data shows some improvement with only seven departures recorded recently. Case backlogs per employee decreased from 34 to 27 cases.
This problem extends beyond Holstebro. National research shows nearly one in four child and youth counselors leave their jobs annually across Denmark.
The core issue involves management structures according to affected families. Mortensen believes leadership should grant caseworkers more responsibility and decision-making authority rather than individual workers bearing blame.
Municipal officials hired a dedicated manager for the family department to strengthen operations. Yet the chairman of the children and family committee declined interview requests about whether service expectations are being met.
For families like Mortensen's, the human cost accumulates daily. "His condition worsened because the case constantly dragged on," she shared. "It isolated him tremendously being home alone while I needed to work."
The situation demonstrates how administrative instability directly impacts vulnerable families seeking essential services. Without consistent case management, even well-intentioned support systems fail those they're designed to help.