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25 March

NO 1277

Residential care in Sweden

Residential care in Sweden consists of three major types – private residential care, public residential care and secure units. The official designation for all forms of residential care is "homes for care or residence". Some of the private units are small and many of them are former foster homes. There has been a transformation of former foster homes into small-scale institutions (Sallnas, 2000). Foster parents have become professionals with salaries and the right to employ staff. Some of these homes are also the residences for some of the staff and are to some extent a hybrid of a foster home and an institution. Homes of this kind are below termed "family style homes". Public residential units are operated by local authorities and, compared to private units, take care of a larger proportion of children in need of emergency shelter care and short-term care (Sallnas, 2000). Placement in private homes has increased while placement in public homes has declined (Vinnerljung, Sallnas, & Oscarsson, 1999). The secure units are specially approved homes operated by the state that have the legal authority to incarcerate. Some of these homes have units for emergency care and for assessment. The lengths of stay in secure units can vary from a few weeks to two years.

In recent decades there has been a strong emphasis on treatment in residential care in Sweden (Sallnas, 2000). The intention has been that young people at risk should be given treatment to change their behaviour. At the same time, the institutional milieu has been considered to be harmful to children and youth. The major part of residential care in Sweden is long-term care for youths (Sallnas, 2000). The number of youths placed in residential care has increased in recent years and the proportion of them who have been placed in residential care has increased while the proportion placed in foster homes has decreased. More institutions have come under private ownership, especially in the case of long-term treatment for young people (Sallnas, 2000; Vinnerljung et al., 1999). This development has made it more difficult for authorities to guide and control residential care. Deficiencies in the control of residential care have been criticised by the Swedish National Audit Office (Riksrevisionsverket, 2002). In the absence of explicit guidelines, the treatment approach is dependent on the ideology and intention of individual homes.

ANDERSSON, B., JOHANSSON, J. AND HWANG, C.P.

Andersson, B., Johansson, J. and Hwaing, C.P. (2007). Long-term residential care for youths in Sweden – approaches to treatment. International Journal of Child and Family Welfare 10, 1-2. p. 29.

REFERENCES

Riksrevisionsverket. (2002). Tillsyn av behandlingshem for barn och ungdomar. [Control of homes for care or residence]. Stockholm. Riksrevisionsverket [National Audit Office].

Sallnas, M. (2000). Barnavardens institutioner – framvaxt, ideologi och struktur. [Residential care in child welfare: Development, ideology and structure]. Stockholm. Stockholm University, Department of Social Work.

Vinnerliung, B., Sallnas, M. and Oscarsson, L. (1999). Dygnsvard for barn och ungdom 1983-1995 [Out-of-home care for children and youth 1983-1995]. Socionomen, Research suppl., 11, 2, p. 1-20.

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