Suchergebnisse

AbstractAt a policy level, governments increasingly stress the importance of children's rights and their ability to participate in decision‐making in child welfare services. An example of this is that the Swedish inspectorate targeting children in residential care is required to consult children and to take account of their opinions. This paper details a study exploring the influence that the inspectorate grants children and particularly how children's views influence the inspection process. The study draws on interviews and observations of inspectors as well as an analysis of a representative sample (n = 147) of documentation from inspections performed during 2012. The result indicates different inspectorial rationales, which in turn influence the importance children's opinions are assigned in the inspection process. Moreover, the findings demonstrate difficulties in giving children's views substantial impact on the inspection process. This can be attributed to the fact that most of the regulatory quality criteria used by the authority diverge from the aspects of care that children attach most importance to. The study adds empirical findings to how the participation of children is realized during inspection.

Abstract
In many countries, there are calls for children to be allowed to participate in social work decision-making. This article analyses child participation vis-à-vis social assistance (SA), which is a municipal cash benefit representing the last safety net. In Sweden, SA is part of the professional field of social work and national policy recommends that children are consulted. The aim is to analyse local policies and practices regarding child participation, and the data are based on case studies in six social service offices. Unlike most participation studies, children's participation is conceived as an institutional pressure and the concept of decoupling is used to examine how local authorities relate to participation. The findings show that in local policies there is a general openness towards participation, but in practice no efforts are being made to promote participation. The absence of participation is analysed as deriving from organisational barriers (practices are adult-centred and child welfare units are seen as responsible for participation) and the scepticism of social workers (participation is an infringement on parental obligations and children should be protected from involvement in financial issues). The article ends with a discussion on the decoupling and adequacy of children's participation in settings comparable with Swedish SA.

AbstractIn recent years, scholars have called for studies exploring how key concepts originating from the children's rights discourse are understood in local contexts. In Sweden, national policy advocates that a child perspective should guide social assistance (SA), a cash benefit constituting society's last safety net. The study analyses the child perspective as an idea (i.e. an ambiguous principle), which is translated (i.e. reformulated and interpreted) at the local level. The findings indicate multiple and partly inconsistent translations of a child perspective. The study argues that it is unclear what adopting a child perspective implies for children in families receiving SA.

ABSTRACTWith placement in residential care, society assumes overall responsibility for a child's daily care, well‐being and development. How public authorities respond to poor care quality is of crucial importance. To guarantee quality care and minimise risks, welfare states increasingly develop different mechanisms and systems to supervise out‐of‐home care. In this article, we analyse how central inspectorates in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden deal with what can be conceived as the last supervisory measure, namely, the revocation of licences. The aim is to describe and analyse how frequently and why national inspectorates in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden withdraw residential care licences. The findings are based on an analysis of all available documented reports on revocation decisions between 2017 and 2021. The findings reveal that, between 2017 and 2021, there were 53 licence suspensions or revocations across the four countries, albeit with variations among the nations. Furthermore, the study shows that residential care units (RCUs) generally have a documented history of interactions with inspectorates. Revocation decisions were often attributed to several reasons, with safety, staff‐related concerns and documentation deficiencies being the primary factors. The findings are discussed based on concepts and theory on regulation and supervision.