Child protection under Swedish law—legal duality and uncertainty

The characteristics and extent of child abuse: findings from a study of the Swedish Social Services child protection

“…Earlier research shows that CYPA cases are rare and often tend to involve very serious neglect and abuse of already harmed children (Leviner, 2014;Östberg, 2010). The present study can be said to confirm these prior findings.…”

“…Most often, there is also a hearing where the parties may present their case. The Social Service system in Sweden can be said to have a clear family supportive approach with an overall focus on strengthening family relationships (Leviner, 2014). There are no national statistics in Sweden on reports to the Social Services regarding children at risk of harm and in the studies where reports have been mapped it is not always clear how many of the reports that concern abuse by parents or other relatives.…”

“…Previous research shows that cases with coercive interventions often tend to involve grave neglect and abuse with already harmed children (Leviner, 2014). Recent studies also show that there are serious gaps in abused children's access to protection and rehabilitation and that the Social Services at large lack policies, assessments and interventions specifically developed for abused children (Broberg et al, 2011;Landberg & Svedin, 2013).…”

“…In a Swedish perspective, the authority with the ultimate responsibility for child protection, the municipal Social Services, can be said to have a clear family supportive approach (Leviner, 2014). Previous research shows that cases with coercive interventions often tend to involve grave neglect and abuse with already harmed children (Leviner, 2014).…”

Social worker motivations and organisational prerequisites for care of children who commit crimes – the best interests of the child or the protection of society?

“…In Sweden (Tärnfalk & Kaldal, 2012), the Nordic countries (Lappi-Seppälä, 2011;Storgaard, 2009) and in Europe, social workers play important and complex roles in the juvenile justice system (Bradt & Bouverne-De Bie, 2009;Rap, 2015). However, contradictory conditions and vague rules cause problems for SSOs in their assessments of the child's best interests and subsequent decision-making (Leviner, 2014). In addition, the Swedish social services show low inter-professional agreement, lack of knowledge of effective intervention methods and little know-how about needs assessment, especially of children and criminal youth (Andershed & Andershed, 2016;Andrée Löfholm, Brännström, Olsson, & Hansson, 2013;Åström, Jergeby, Andershed & Tengström, 2013;Ginner Hau & Smedler, 2011a, 2011bKaunitz, 2017).…”