Stockholms universitet
This page in English

Marie SallnäsProfessor

Om mig

Jag forskar och undervisar i huvudsak om social barnavård i vid bemärkelse. Speciellt har jag ägnat mig åt frågor som rör placeringar av barn och unga utanför hemmet, vad gäller samhällsvårdens innehåll och utfall, men också barnavårdens historiska framväxt och organisering. 

Forskningsprojekt

Barnets färd genom den sociala barnavården

I en sexårig studie ska 2 000 barn och ungdomar i nordvästra Stockholm följas genom barnavårdssystemet. Studien bedrivs av en tvärvetenskaplig forskargrupp med sin bas i socialt arbete, kriminologi, sociologi och juridik, och i samarbete med FoU-Nordväst.

Familjehem som samhällsåtgärd

Studien syftar till att utifrån offentlig statistik och en nationell kommunenkät kartlägga det utbud, dvs subkategorier av hem som betecknas som familjehemsvård, samt vilka faktorer som styr hur utbudet formeras.

Publikationer

I urval från Stockholms universitets publikationsdatabas

  • Tensions and Trade-offs: Staff's Understanding of Children as Rigths Holders in Secure Care

    2024. Marie Sallnäs, Sofia Enell, Titti Mattsson. The International Journal of Children's Rights 32 (2), 477-501

    Artikel

    This article explores how staff in Swedish secure care value and understand the rights of the children and young people in their care. To be a staff member in secure care means having a professional role that includes viewing and relating to young people as individual rights holders in a setting where care and treatment shall be provided to a group of young people. However, this occurs in an environment characterised by strong coercive and controlling elements. The study shows that the viewing and handling of children’s rights is dependent on various trade-offs that staff make. Negotiations about what should be seen as rights frequently take place, leading to tensions regarding children’s status as individual rights holders. The study adds knowledge about how staff describe the nature of these tensions in the daily life of secure care units. Implications for practice are discussed.

     

    Läs mer om Tensions and Trade-offs

  • De utsatta barnen och "de andra": om konfliktytor och intressemotsättningar i den sociala barnavården

    2024. Tommy Lundström, Marie Sallnäs. Akilleshälar i välfärd, socialpolitik och socialt arbete, 89-102

    Kapitel
    Läs mer om De utsatta barnen och "de andra"

  • Beyond professional terms – the family metaphor in staff descriptions of their relations to young people in secure

    2024. Peter Andersson, Marie Sallnäs. Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care 23 (1), 7-23

    Artikel

    One premise for the organisation of residential care for youthis that staff are expected to relate to each young personindividually, but also to the group of young people as a whole.The relational interplay between staff and placed youths insecure unit care is fundamentally based on asymmetry, withinteractions taking place in a context of confinement. The aimhere is to explore how staff working in secure institutionalcare for youths in Sweden understand and describe theirrelationships with youth in terms that extend beyondprofessionalism, and especially their use of the familymetaphor. Fifty-three interviews with staff were analysed in atwo-step qualitative analysis, which generated three themesthat highlighted staff narratives focusing on descriptions ofparenting, sibling relationships, and closeness without usingthe family metaphor. One conclusion is that despite an overallshift away from the family metaphor, in the direction offraming residential care in professional terms, the familyconcept seems to sit quite well even in an environment withambitions to provide professional care. The family metaphormay not be the cornerstone of care, but it is eminentlypresent. 

    Läs mer om Beyond professional terms – the family metaphor in staff descriptions of their relations to young people in secure

  • Rättigheter som ”token”, egenansvar och egenvärde –: Barn och ungas förståelse av rättigheter i låst institutionsvård

    2023. Sofia Enell, Titti Mattsson, Marie Sallnäs. Nordisk socialrättslig tidskrift (2023 35-36), 7-38

    Artikel

    In Sweden, the recent debate on youth crime has focused on strengthening repressive measures. At the same time, government work is underway to strengthen children’s rights. Young people who are placed for the purpose of care in secure youth care (locked institutions) are placed at the intersection of these two trends. Starting from a critical children’s rights perspective, we explore how young people understand rights in a secure care environment and discuss how these understandings relates to central principals, laws and conventions. We start from the concrete situations and contexts in which rights are to be realized in order to contribute to a better understanding of the importance of rights in a secure care environment. The empirical data consists of 15 youth interviews, at four institutions. Three understandings of rights are identified; rights as tokens where rights are seen as something symbolic and without meaning, rights as self-responsibility where rights are seen as conditional on the young people’s actions and, rights as fundamental value where rights are understood as respect for one’s own and others’ human dignity, regardless of their actions. The three understandings of rights can be linked to different care contexts and to the relationship between staff and young people. Taken together, the young people’s understandings highlight the importance of basic principles of dignity and respect on equal terms, as well as the right of children deprived of their liberty to be helped to reintegrate into society. Implications for the operation of secure youth care are highlighted.

    Läs mer om Rättigheter som ”token”, egenansvar och egenvärde –

  • Nya villkor för ett gammalt problem: familjehemsrekrytering i en tid av privatisering och professionalisering

    2022. Pålsson Pålsson, Tommy Lundström, Marie Sallnäs. Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift 29 (2), 173-190

    Artikel

    Foster care is the most common intervention for children who are placed in out-of-home care. At the same time, there are recurrent discussions about difficulties in recruiting foster homes. The preconditions for recruitment have changed and today, there is an increased competition for foster homes between municipalities and private businesses, stricter requirements placed on foster parents and changes in the needs of children placed in care. The aim of the article is to analyse the recruitment of foster homes in light of these changed preconditions. Empirically, the article is based on a survey targeting Swedish municipalities. The findings show, that although a majority of the municipalities have employees particularly responsible for recruitment, small municipalities often lack such resources. Further on, almost three quarters of the municipalities state that it is difficult or very difficult to recruit foster homes. For example, answers to the survey’s open questions demonstrate that competition from other municipalities and private companies affects recruitment. Further on, the municipality’s reputation is considered an important factor for attracting new foster homes. Finally, it appears to be difficult for municipalities to recruit a varied supply of foster homes and, in particular, homes that can care for children with special needs. The findings are discussed in relation to previous international and Swedish research. Finally, suggestions regarding how recruitment may be improved are presented. 

    Läs mer om Nya villkor för ett gammalt problem: familjehemsrekrytering i en tid av privatisering och professionalisering

  • Therapeutic content in Swedish residential care for children and youth - managers choices and the reasoning behind

    2021. Marie Sallnäs, Emelie Shanks. European Journal of Social Work

    Artikel

    The field of residential care for children and youth in Sweden is fragmented; there is a diversity both in terms of ownership and in terms of therapeutic content. This article analyses how decisions regarding therapeutic content are made in residential care settings. The data consists of interviews with representatives of different types of residential care organisations. The results indicate that the field is impacted by different logics as well as multiple actors and environmental elements shaping the prerequisites for decisions about therapeutic content. Local managers have substantial discretion in deciding which models and treatments that should be used in their settings and they can in that capacity be viewed as key actors in the field. The decisions of managers are influenced by a mix of professional and market logics, but there are also some traces of a family logic. Signs of a professional logic can be discerned in claims about models and treatments viewed as evidence-based and/or locally evaluated, but such claims are also perceived as competitive on the market. A gap between descriptions of models and treatments and actual practice is acknowledged by managers and believed to be fuelled by procurement processes and market considerations.

    Läs mer om Therapeutic content in Swedish residential care for children and youth - managers choices and the reasoning behind

  • Privatisation of residential care for children and youth in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden

    2021. Emelie Shanks (et al.). Nordisk välfärdsforskning | Nordic Welfare Research 6 (3), 128-141

    Artikel

    Few studies have investigated the privatisation of residential care for children and youth, and no studies have compared, mapped, and discussed the care markets that have developed in the Nordic countries. Here, we map and discuss the role of providers of residential care for children and youth in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. In addition, we explore the driving forces behind the current situation in these countries. Although these countries have significant level of privatisation, they have several differences in terms of the participation of the public sector and how market shares are divided between, for example, for-profit companies and non-profit organisations. These differences are discussed as a result of the historical positions, for example, of non-profit organisations as well as differences in the way the countries adapted New Public Management and procurement regulations.

    Läs mer om Privatisation of residential care for children and youth in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden

  • A Crisis in Swedish Child Welfare? On Risk, Control and Trust

    2021. Tommy Lundström (et al.). Social Work & Society 19 (1)

    Artikel

    In recent decades, Swedish out-of-home care has been criticised for a number of reasons. In this article, based on research and public debate, we discuss this criticism as well as the institutional responses that have been evoked. We use the concepts of risk, control and trust to structure the analysis, which outlines three core issues portrayed as problematic: a) certain principles of the Swedish child welfare system with relevance for the placement of children and adolescence, b) the quality of out-of-home care and c) the privatisation of out-of-home care and the possibility of generating profits on such services. The institutional response to the criticism has mainly been increased control measures, but the development is not uniform - trust and control-oriented responses are often combined. We conclude the article by relating Swedish out-of-home care to international child welfare trends, discussing the institutional responses and the implications for social work practice.

    Läs mer om A Crisis in Swedish Child Welfare? On Risk, Control and Trust

  • Impression management in the market for residential care for children and youth in Sweden

    2020. Emelie Shanks (et al.). Social Policy & Administration

    Artikel

    In what has become quite a turbulent quasi‐market for residential care for children and youth, providers now compete for public contracts. To create visibility and attract customers, many providers use marketing activities to project the desired impression of themselves to maintain or strengthen their market position. In this article, we analyse how companies that provide residential care for children manage the impressions they project on their websites and in advertisements. The results reveal that residential care providers use a range of impression management strategies to enhance their organizational image and to respond to potentially damaging or threatening images. The information providers choose to disclose leaves customers—in this case, the social workers responsible for choosing and purchasing care on behalf of clients—with rather limited opportunities to evaluate the quality of care. This is a significant problem considering other, more reliable, sources of information are difficult to access.

    Läs mer om Impression management in the market for residential care for children and youth in Sweden

  • HVB för barn och unga - en evig vinstmaskin?

    2019. Tommy Lundström, Marie Sallnäs. Socialpolitik (2), 22-23

    Artikel

    Hvb, hem för vård eller boende, är kanske det fält inom välfärdsområdet där privatiseringarna gått som längst. Avkastningen är mycket hög, 20 procent. En siffra som sticker ut.

    Under rubriken ”Ungdomshem en guldgruva”, kunde Dagens Industri för fem år sedan konstatera: ”Boende för barn och ungdomar är en lönsam nisch för vårdbolag. Miljonvinsterna fortsätter att rulla in även om ett stundande vinstförbud hänger som ett mörkt moln över branschen”. Idag kan vi konstatera att något mörkt moln inte längre hänger som ett hot, vinstbegränsningar har i det stora hela försvunnit från den politiska dagordningen. Men hur är det då med själva vinsterna? Den frågan och hur det gått till när hvb-vård blivit ett fält för privata företag diskuteras i den här artikeln.

    Läs mer om HVB för barn och unga - en evig vinstmaskin?

  • Stability and change in the field of residential care for children.

    2018. Tommy Lundström, Marie Sallnäs, Emelie Shanks. Nordic Social Work Research

    Artikel

    The field of residential care for children and youth in Sweden is often termed unstable and turbulent. During recent decades the field has been subject to many changes. In this study, the development and changes in the field of residential care for children and youth in terms of ownership structure and treatment ideas will be analysed. The study is particularly focused on the changes in ownership structure that have taken place during the 2010s. It also analyses changes in treatment ideas, and discusses how these may relate to transformations of ownership structures as well as to dimensions of institutional logics, such as legislation and other types of normative pressure from the environment. The result reveals that of the approximately 450 treatment oriented residential care units (excluding homes for refugee children), close to 80 % are today run by private companies and to a growing extent by large for-profit corporations. Parallel – and possibly related – to the changes in ownership structure, the dominant treatment ideas have changed over time. The changes in the field can be summarised as a transformation from small-scale establishments with a family logic, to large-scale establishments with a professional logic, or more specifically from a domination of small family run units with milieu therapy to big business and a focus on evidence based interventions.

    Läs mer om Stability and change in the field of residential care for children.

  • Privatisering inom individ- och familjeomsorgen

    2018. Marie Sallnäs, Stefan Wiklund. Manifest, 59-69

    Kapitel

    Privata aktörer har en framträdande roll inom flera av socialtjänstens verksamhetsområden, något som påverkar förutsättningarna för arbetet. Forskningen har pekat ut flera problem som är förknippade med den typ av marknadsförhållanden som råder på socialtjänstområdet. En försvårande omständighet är att de som direkt berörs av socialtjänstens insatser är en socialt selekterad grupp med svag samhällsposition och med starkt begränsade möjligheter att utöva någon form av konsumentmakt. I kapitlet diskuteras privatiseringens omfattning och konsekvenser, samt i vilken riktning man ska tro att utvecklingen går i framtiden.

    Läs mer om Privatisering inom individ- och familjeomsorgen

  • Epilog

    2018. Marie Sallnäs, Stefan Wiklund. Socialtjänstmarknaden, 229-235

    Kapitel
    Läs mer om Epilog

  • Placement breakdowns in long-term foster care – a regional Swedish study

    2017. Bo Vinnerljung, Marie Sallnäs, Marie Berlin. Child & Family Social Work 22, 15-25

    Artikel

    We used a regional sample of children in long-term foster care to investigate the prevalence of placement breakdown in adolescence, and to assess risk factors/risk markers for placement disruption. The sample consisted of all 136 foster children in the region, born 1980–1992, who on their 12th birthday had been in the same foster family for at least 4 years. They were followed in case files until date of disruption or their 18th birthday. Data on conditions before and during placement were retrieved from case files, and analysed in bi- and multivariate models. Results showed that one in four placements broke down in adolescence. The median child who experienced a breakdown was 14 years old, and had been in the same foster home for more than 10 years. Prominent risk factors were (i) being placed after age 2 and (ii) having a birth sibling in the same foster home. We also uncovered strong risk markers that can be viewed as precursors of placement disruption. When the child or the foster parents repeatedly over time expressed dissatisfaction with the placement, this ended with a placement breakdown in 60% of cases. Implications for practice are discussed.

    Läs mer om Placement breakdowns in long-term foster care – a regional Swedish study

  • Big Business in a Thin Market

    2016. Gabrielle Meagher (et al.). Social Policy & Administration 50 (7), 805-823

    Artikel

    This article analyzes the transformation of Swedish residential care homes for children from a regionally coordinated, public social service system into a thin, but highly profitable, national spot market in which large corporations have a growing presence. Marketization and privatization are theorized as complex processes, through which the institutional structure and logics of this small, but significant, social policy field changed profoundly. Using official documents, register data, media reports and existing research, three consecutive phases in the development of the children’s home market are identified since the early 1980s. Change was driven on one hand by policies inspired by New Public Management, which shifted public authority horizontally to the private sector, and vertically to local authorities (funding) and to the state (regulation). On the other hand were responses of local authorities and private actors to the changing incentives that policy shifts entailed. During the first two phases, both the proportion and size of for-profit providers increased, and the model of family-like care was replaced by a professional model. Cutting across the trend of privatization in the third phase was establishment of a parallel system of homes for unaccompanied refugee children – mostly in public ownership. Similarities with privatization in the English system of children’s care homes are noted. By showing how the Swedish market for residential care has been created by policy and by actors’ responses to those reforms, the article provides a foundation for thinking through how the predictable, significant and well-documented problems of such care markets might be addressed.

    Läs mer om Big Business in a Thin Market

  • Good idea, bad prerequisite, zero result - the meaning of context in implementing aftercare for young people in secure unit care

    2014. Maria Andersson Vogel, Marie Sallnäs, Tommy Lundström. Journal of Children's Services 9 (3), 248-260

    Artikel

    Purpose– The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to report results from a quasi-experimental study of outcomes of a leaving care project for youth placed in secure unit care and second, based on the (zero) results, to analyse and discuss the interplay between organisational boundaries, social work and the target group when implementing a project such as the one studied.

    Design/methodology/approach– The outcome study had a quasi-experimental design. The young people in the leaving care programme were compared with a matched reference group who did not get the special leaving care services. Data were collected (structured Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis-interviews) when the young people entered secure units and on follow-up (registered crime and re-entry into care).

    Findings– The outcome study showed that the leaving care project had no effect on the young people's situation at follow-up regarding re-offending and re-entry into secure unit care. This is understood and discussed in relation to the poor implementation of the leaving care project along with an inbuilt conflict between state and local municipality that overshadowed the good intentions of the project.

    Research limitations/implications– The effect study has a quasi-experimental design, and hence differences between the project group and the comparison group at T1 cannot be fully precluded, although nothing is pointing in such a direction. The unclear content of the intervention makes it difficult to decode how the variation in the support given to the young people eventually impacted the results. The zero-results apply to group level, but that may not be valid for each and every one in the project.

    Practical implications– According to earlier research, a key person following young persons through different phases of the care trajectory may be of importance. Learning from the CoC project, one can conclude that such a key person should preferably take the role of advocate for the young person, and not be an administrator mainly concerned with coordinating other professionals. Further, when planning and financing is split between organisations, that split hinders efforts to actually mobilise support for young people leaving secure unit care.

    Originality/value– Few leaving care services are designed for youth with severe behavioural problems and hence, the research is scarce. This study contributes with important knowledge about leaving care interventions for the target group.

    Läs mer om Good idea, bad prerequisite, zero result - the meaning of context in implementing aftercare for young people in secure unit care

  • Paired reading for foster children

    2014. Bo Vinnerljung (et al.). Adoption & Fostering 38 (4), 361-373

    Artikel

    A UK literacy intervention – Paired Reading – was replicated in seven Swedish local authorities, with 81 foster children aged 8–12 participating in a 16-week trial. Ability was measured pre/post intervention with age-standardised literacy tests and a short version of the WISC-IV. Results confirm and expand findings from the UK, namely that: almost all foster carers and children completed the programme (attrition 2.4%), average improvement in reading age was 11 months, basically the same as in the UK; younger children (aged 8–9) improved significantly on all four administered standardised reading tests, and on the WISC-IV Vocabulary subtest. Older children (aged 10–12) improved significantly on three of five literacy tests and on the WISC-IV Vocabulary subtest. On the short version of WISC-IV, vocabulary improvements over time reduced the proportion of children who could be classified as having ‘weak cognitive skills’ (IQ <85) from 54% to 36%. This finding is in line with results from other studies, indicating that scores from cognitive tests of pre-teen children in out-of-home care should not be regarded as fixed and can be improved by effective interventions.

    Läs mer om Paired reading for foster children

  • Sibling contact among Swedish children in foster and residential care

    2012. Tommy Lundström, Marie Sallnäs. Children and youth services review 34 (2), 396-402

    Artikel

    This article investigates siblingcontact among Swedish fostered children in foster and residentialcare. The study also examines a potential link between siblingcontact and psychosomatic status. Highly structured interviews were conducted with 240 young people (13–18 years) in out of homecare. Results show unfulfilled desire for siblingcontact among children in Swedishout-of-homecare. Nearly 40% of the children interviewed see their siblings more seldom than monthly and a good half of the children—more girls than boys—want more siblingcontact. The longer the time the children have spent in care, the greater is the risk of being without contact with brothers and sisters; and the more seldom the children see their siblings, the more they crave contact. The Swedishfamilyservicesystem is obviously no guarantee of fostered children keeping their desired contact with brothers and sisters. Thus, an important task for social workers and others involved in the life of separated children is to open opportunities for contact—if the children want it. From achildren's rights perspective, it is fundamental to facilitate siblingcontact among fostered children according to their own wishes.

    Läs mer om Sibling contact among Swedish children in foster and residential care

  • Welfare resources among children in care

    2012. Marie Sallnäs, Stefan Wiklund, Hélenè Lagerlöf. European Journal of Social Work 15 (4), 467-483

    Artikel

    In a study on living conditions among children, 13-18 years old (n = 272) in on-going foster and residential care, concepts from welfare theory and empirical research are applied. We argue that using a welfare perspective and the concept of level of living when assessing looked after children's situation provides several advantages. From this perspective, children are agents for whom access to resources will influence their discretion and possibility to act. By using concepts from welfare research and replicated national surveys of living conditions on a population of placed children, we can assess the extent to which these children enjoy such a standard while in care. In other words, it is possible to assess the compensatory capacity of state care for a population of children that has been recognized as deprived in terms of welfare resources in their birth families. The overall conclusion concerning the welfare dimensions studied is that children in care in general have less access to resources than their peers in the normal population. This holds particularly true for children in residential care, where the differences are substantial. In other words, the care context tends to differentiate the extent to which society acts to compensate for the initial disadvantaged position from which children in care often originate

    Läs mer om Welfare resources among children in care

  • A Comparison of Out-of-home Care for Children and Young People in Australia and Sweden

    2011. Karen Healy, Tommy Lundström, Marie Sallnäs. Australian Social Work 64 (4), 416-431

    Artikel

    In this paper we present a comparative analysis of out-of-home care in Australia and Sweden. We compare the age structure of the out-of-home care population and the types of out-of-home care services provided to children and young people in both countries. Our analysis reveals that in Australia the out-of-home care service system is focused mainly on children who are deemed to be abused or neglected within their families, while in Sweden the majority of the out-of-home care population are teenagers who cannot live with their families for emotional or behavioural reasons. These population differences intersect with variations in the forms of service provision in both countries, with a much greater reliance on home-based care in Australia than in Sweden, while there is more extensive use of residential care in Sweden. We envisage that this paper will demonstrate how the age structure of the out-of-home care population, though rarely considered in international comparative child welfare research, reveals much about the assumptions on which State intervention with children and young people is based. We intend that this analysis will assist social workers to better understand and address the gaps in the quality and comprehensiveness of out-of-home care service provision to children and young people in both countries.

    Läs mer om A Comparison of Out-of-home Care for Children and Young People in Australia and Sweden

  • The material side of foster care:

    2011. Stefan Wiklund, Marie Sallnäs. Adoption & Fostering 34 (4), 27-38

    Artikel

    Outcome studies in foster care have tended to focus on children's development and long-term adjustment. The economic aspects of placements and their effect on children's immediate welfare have been little explored. Stefan Wiklund and Marie Sallnäs compare the economic circumstances of Swedish foster carers with adults in the wider population and contrast the situation of 125 older children in foster homes, teenagers in the community and a group in residential care. As few differences were found, except for the relative disadvantage of those in residential settings, it is concluded that there is no intrinsic reason why foster care should deprive children economically. Moreover, as the child's welfare while in care is important in its own right, the criteria used to assess the suitability of carers should include measures of available resources.

    Läs mer om The material side of foster care:

  • Samhällsvårdade barn, gate-keeping och forskning

    2010. Marie Sallnäs, Stefan Wiklund, Hélène Lagerlöf. Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift 17 (2), 116-133

    Artikel

    Within the discourse of childhood sociology, children are extensively regarded as “social actors”, a perspective that underlines the importance of asking children about their lives and experiences. To actually carry out such research, however, raises several methodological, principal, ethical and practical issues, especially when the research is about vulnerable children as those in out-of-home care. In this article we discuss the issue of gate-keeping when conducting research with children in foster homes or residential care. As a concrete example we use experiences from a survey of living conditions among those children.  The research questions were: 1) How and by whom is gate-keeping carried out when research is conducted among children in out of home care? 2) How could one as a researcher relate to gate-keeping carried out by adults in the environment of the children versus children’s one will? 3) What impact does gate-keeping have on results, feasibility and in a wider perspective the knowledge production regarding children in social care? The article shows that researchers needs to encounter a chain of gate-keepers to be able to get access to the children, and often attrition is high in studies with children as informants. Adults can serve both as gate-keepers and gate-openers. Our conclusion is that children in social care can be reached for research purpose, but that it is time-consuming, challenging and as a researcher one is often faced with ethical dilemmas. It is clear that there has to be a balance between gate-keeping and gate-opening. In this balance, on the one hand, it is possible for children to talk to researchers when they wish to do so, on the other hand, children must be protected so they are not exploited as research objects.

    Läs mer om Samhällsvårdade barn, gate-keeping och forskning

  • Into adulthood

    2008. Bo Vinnerljung, Marie Sallnäs. Journal of Child and Family Social Work (13), 144-155

    Artikel
    Läs mer om Into adulthood

  • Barnavårdens institutioner

    2000. Marie Sallnäs, Thomas Lindstein, Gunvor Andersson.

    Avhandling (Dok)

    The study presents an overview of the historical growth and deve-lopment of residential care for children and youth in Sweden as well as an analysis of the present-day structure and organisation. The empirical material consists of official statistics, government reports and data from a questionnaire addressed to all registered residential homes in the child welfare sector at the end of 1995. The history of residential care for children and youth is marked by a period of establishment and expansion in the first decades of the last century, followed by a process of major de-institutionalisa-tion in the period after the Second World War. A third phase was introduced with the Social Service Act of 1980, which laid down new premises for child welfare. Traditional concepts of children’s homes were replaced in the legislation by the “HVB-home” and the dividing line between institutions and foster homes became blurred. The study shows that contrary to what was intended, a growing part of out-of-home placements during the 1980:s and 1990:s where into residential care. In fact, residential care has taken over “market shares” from foster care in Sweden. Analysis of the range of alternatives shows that residential care today is relatively small-scale and that nearly all of the smaller units are privately run. Approximately half of the homes have teenagers as their target group and most homes work with longer-term pro-grammes of treatment and care. Educational background among staff varies considerably, but in general the level of educational is low. So far, no professional forces have proved strong enough to organise the field on a mutually knowledgeable, normative ground. A problem is the lack of unanimous concepts and a common language with a terminology that can be used for a systematic de-scription of the care or treatment given. What is clear, however, is that a new form of residential care can be identified – so-called hy-brid homes that are somewhere in between extended foster homes and small institutions – and that these homes have gained a con-siderable position in the field.

    Läs mer om Barnavårdens institutioner

  • Klass, kön och etnicitet i den sociala barnavården

    2003. Tommy Lundström, Marie Sallnäs. Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift 10 (2-3), 193-213

    Artikel

    Denna artikel tar utgångspunkt i ett socialpolitiskt perspektiv och analyserar hur barnavårdsproblem över tid kopplats till klass, kön och etnicitet. Hur har dessa faktorer behandlats i officiella texter om barnavård under 1900talet och hur framstår de i offentlig statistik?

    Läs mer om Klass, kön och etnicitet i den sociala barnavården

Visa alla publikationer av Marie Sallnäs vid Stockholms universitet

Redigera profilen