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AbstractThe aim of this article is to investigate how children's care responsibility is recognised in records of personal assistance carried out by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA). The article consists of document analysis, examining how caring activities are made visible in the records, and professionals' views and actions regarding responsibilities placed on children. Data consist of 100 cases randomly selected from the SSIA register amongst applicants with children, focusing on parents' descriptions of their needs, the public officials' assessments, and statements from professionals. Recurring themes related to young carers were developed.

Järkestig Berggren U, Blomberg S, Petersson J. Traits of a representative welfare state: the Swedish exampleInt J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 402–411 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare.The care manager reform and the case manager reform are new reforms in the social care services in Sweden, which are evolving during the 2000s. Together they shape the social care services introducing a new way of decision‐making where representatives for the organisation (care manager) and the users (case manager) negotiate. The reforms have been analysed in two studies with results presented in this article. Using the concepts of role, orientation, function and assignments, it is argued that the managers come to the negotiations on rights from different positions that are both conflicting and complementary. They further mediate the development towards a welfare mix, where the market, social networks and users interact to obtain the public welfare provision. Through this negotiated rights model, it is argued that traits of a representative welfare state emerge, with the distinction of moving the focus to the administrative practices and their differences away from political ideologies.

AbstractThe use of private consultants in child protection investigations in Sweden is an evolving practice that occurs under the radar; it is not in the political agenda and it is obscure in relation to legislation. The aim of this article is to analyse the contextual forces, facilitators and intentions behind the ongoing implementation of privatisation in child protection investigations. For this article, both quantitative and qualitative data for the years 2013–2017 were obtained through a telephone questionnaire. Managers of 32 social services departments were interviewed. Statistical data of the year 2018 collected by the National Board of Health and Welfare was also included in the analysis. Applying a mixed-method design, the article shows that some prerequisites in legislation make it possible for privatisation to develop. There are societal changes that act as contextual forces, and there are structures in place from earlier stages of the development of privatisation that facilitate the new practice. Also, there are professional intentions that drive the process. The implementation of private consultants in child protection takes place during a period of high workload for social services. The article concludes with a discussion about the consequences for children and families of this new trend in privatisation.

The use of private consultants in child protection investigations in Sweden is an evolving practice that occurs under the radar; it is not in the political agenda and it is obscure in relation to legislation. The aim of this article is to analyse the contextual forces, facilitators and intentions behind the ongoing implementation of privatisation in child protection investigations. For this article, both quantitative and qualitative data for the years 2013–2017 were obtained through a telephone questionnaire. Managers of 32 social services departments were interviewed. Statistical data of the year 2018 collected by the National Board of Health and Welfare was also included in the analysis. Applying a mixed-method design, the article shows that some prerequisites in legislation make it possible for privatisation to develop. There are societal changes that act as contextual forces, and there are structures in place from earlier stages of the development of privatisation that facilitate the new practice. Also, there are professional intentions that drive the process. The implementation of private consultants in child protection takes place during a period of high workload for social services. The article concludes with a discussion about the consequences for children and families of this new trend in privatisation.

The austerity measures in social welfare implemented by street-level bureaucrats in their practice are changing the direction of social policy. This article examines the strategies used by public officials in implementing austerity measures in needs assessment for personal assistance in Sweden. The article is based on a document study with N = 100 records of needs assessment for personal assistance for persons with serious functional disabilities. Findings show that the public officials at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency either limit or extend their discretion as a strategy, as well as use weak warrants as strong warrants in recommending decisions. Other strategies involve the organisational logic, fragmentation of the content in the needs assessment and division of work among the public officials. Implementing the cost-cutting goals causes severe consequences for persons with disabilities who bear the brunt by being excluded from participation in society. The social policy values of fifty years, emphasising the right to equal participation in society, are traded for economic austerity goals. ; Besparingsåtgärder i social välfärd implementeras av gatubyråkrater som i sin praktik förändrar riktningen på den förda socialpolitiken. Denna artikel undersöker de strategier som handläggare använder för att implementera besparingspolitik i utredningar av enskilda personers ansökning om personlig assistans. Artikeln baseras på en dokumentstudie av N=100 utredningar genomförda av Försäkringskassans handläggare. Resultaten visar att handläggare omväxlande begränsar eller utvidgar sitt handlingsutrymme och använder vägledande argument som styrande riktlinjer. Andra strategier som används är kopplade till logiker som gäller i organisationen, fragmentisering av data i utredningen och arbetsdelning av utredningens genomförande och beslutsfattande mellan gatubyråkrater i organisationen. Implementering av besparingsmål får allvarliga konsekvenser för personer med omfattande funktionsnedsättningar som riskerar att exkluderas från delaktighet i samhällslivet. Funktionshinderpolitikens nu 50-åriga målsättning om delaktighet på lika villkor byts i praktiken ut mot ekonomiska mål om besparingar.

ABSTRACTChildren with disabilities are over‐represented in foster care and exposed to more disruptions. This is unfortunate because they need long‐term relationships and predictability, as well as access to special schools and health care. Disruption can be the result of a poor match between the child and the foster family. In this article, we focus on the matching process in relation to children with disabilities. Zeijlmans et al. describe matching as the process by which social workers move from principles of good matching to realistic matching, depending on existing premises. Using their model, we analyse the matching process for children with disabilities in Sweden. The study is based on 31 individual interviews and six group interviews with social workers and social work managers. They describe how they take into account the family climate, family composition and prior knowledge and/or experience of disability in the foster home. However, disruptions occur even when these conditions are met. Stable placements seem to be more related to the fostered child's progress when the family's efforts are rewarded. We also address the complex issue of what disability actually means in the context of foster care, given the interrelatedness of trauma, maltreatment and impairment.

ABSTRACTStability is vital for the development, health and relationships of children in family foster care. Instability can lead to social and school issues, low self‐esteem and diminished trust in caregivers. This article examines the risk and protective factors for stability for these children. Data, drawn from case files in six municipalities (n = 116), combine qualitative and quantitative analyses for a comprehensive understanding. Twenty children from each municipality were selected, with 10 in stable placements (lived in one family foster home for over a year) and 10 in unstable placements (lived in at least two different family foster homes). Quantitative results highlight the importance of factors like familiar placements, a child's age at the time of placement, behavioural challenges and the number of children in the foster home. Stable placements were more common in homes with fewer children (including foster and biological children). Qualitative findings show that in some instances, breakdowns in foster care placements could not be foreseen, often arising from stressful events within the foster family's life after the child's placement. Additionally, we observed that breakdowns sometimes resulted from foster parents lacking the necessary resources to address the child's requirements, particularly in cases involving children with behavioural challenges or extensive needs.