The society that we are living in has a responsibility to make sure that no children suffer from violence or any type of neglect. All authorities in society, as well as the social services and decision-making agencies have an obligation to protect and prioritize the best interests of the child in all types of decisions concerning children. In cases where children are at a tangible risk of harm due to circumstances at home, children can be involuntarily removed from their parents by law. In such circumstances, the child's parents do not consent to the child being taken care of according to law based on voluntariness. This requires a court care order according to LVU. In recent years, the public debate in Sweden has increased regarding when it is safe for a child who has been removed from its parents to move back home. Due to this societal debate, this study aims to define which factors affect as well as being most significant in the court's decision-making regarding when it is appropriate or not for a child to either stay in the foster family or to reunite with its parents. Furthermore, the study also aims to provide a deeper understanding on how the court considers on one hand the best interest of the child and on the other hand the parental perspective in their basis of verdict. The conflict of interest stands between whether the care of the child should cease or continue. The purpose of this study has been enabled through a qualitative review of 12 court decision orders which have been made between the years 2021-2022. The result shows that all 12 court orders decide that the compulsory care of the children should continue. The main reason in the courts basis for decision is that the circumstances that caused the care has not yet improved enough. In the review of the court decisions several significant themes occurred. One of the most significant themes were lack of lasting change among the parents. Moreover, another major theme was that the parents could not show insight in the situation. Lastly, the parents had a lack of ability to meet the children's needs, which in some cases were extensive. The result shows that the court considers the best interest of the child before the parental perspective. This appears while the court highlights each individual child and its needs. Meanwhile, the court also listens to the children who are old enough to express their feelings and opinions to a relatively large extent. Nevertheless, the court also shows understanding for the parents' will and desire to bring back their children. The court emphasizes what further needs to be achieved for the parents to reach a cessation of the compulsory care of their children.

Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka hur barnets åsikter kommer till uttryck i familjerättens utredningar gällande vårdnad, boende och umgänge och på vilket sätt barnet görs delaktigt. Studiens empiri bestod av tolv vårdnadsutredningar som ingick som aktbilagor från domstolsbeslut från en större tingsrätt under mitten av 2020. Materialet undersöktes utifrån en kvalitativ innehållsmetod. Analysen av empirin gjordes med hjälp av Harts (1992) delaktighetsstege kombinerat med ett barndomssociologiskt perspektiv. Studien visar att barn oftast är delaktiga i en ganska låg nivå utifrån Harts (1992) delaktighetsstege. Barn begränsas av att delaktigheten sker genom vuxna på olika sätt eller att barn själva kan välja att inte vara delaktiga och därmed visa aktörskap. Studien visar också att vuxna spelar en stor roll för att möjliggöra för barn att vara delaktiga. Det är de vuxna som beslutar om delaktighet. Vidare visar studien att familjerättsutredaren i många fall går efter barnets vilja, antingen att det har framkommit i samtal med barnet eller att barnets åsikt har framkommit på annat sätt. / The aim of the study was to investigate how the child's views are expressed in family court investigations concerning custody, residence, and access. The empirical material of the study consisted of twelve custody investigations included as case files from court decisions from a major district court in mid-2020. The material was examined using a qualitative content method. The analysis of the empirical data was conducted using Hart's (1992) participation ladder combined with a childhood sociology perspective. The study shows that children are usually involved at a rather low level according to Hart's (1992) participation ladder. Children are limited by the fact that participation is done by adults in different ways or that children themselves can choose not to participate and thus show agency. The study also shows that adults play a major role in enabling children to be involved. It is the adults who decide on participation. Furthermore, the study shows that in many cases the family court mediator follows the child's wishes, either expressed in discussions with the child or the child's opinion expressed in other ways.

This essay takes aim on the issue that the concept of the best interest of the child has no distinct legal definition. This essay means to explore how the concept is constructed by the social workers in investigations about custody, accommodation and contact. Furthermore, previous research suggests that social norms have an influence on the construction of the concept. Therefore, this essay also aims to understand if this is the case and to what extent norms have an influence on the construction of the best interest of the child. Finally, the goal is also to understand how legal certainty is affected by the influence of social norms. This essay uses a content analysis of investigations that are presented in the court’s legal documents. The content analysis uses the theoretical framework from Håkan Hydéns norm model. The results show that social workers mainly use circumstances in the individual case to create meaning of what is and what is not the best interest of the child. Social workers also use their own knowledge and experience, as well as scientific knowledge. Lastly, social workers sometimes use their own interpretations, opinions and values to give meaning to what the best interest of the child means. The results also show that there is room for norms to influence the assessment of what is in the best interest of the child, but at the same time the result can’t explain to what extent social norms have an influence. Furthermore, the results show that the influence of norms may affect the legal certainty of children negatively.

The purpose of this essay is to create an understanding of how social workers work to ensure that the best interest of the child is achieved in custody disputes. The essay is based on seven semi-structured interviews with practicing social workers working with family law. The gathered material was analyzed using a thematic analysis method. The results of the study show that working with the best interest of the child in mind, using a child´s perspective, is complex and difficult. One of the reasons why it is difficult is that there is no exact definition of what “the best interest of the child” is and how it should be realised by the social worker since the concept should be assessed and applied individually every single time. All of the respondents states that the investigation is imbued by the wellbeing of them say that ultimately the child´s best interest is not what is valued the most in the investigation. The material shows that all the respondents are aware that the children’s perspective should be prominent during the entirety of the investigation. It is a common goal amongst the respondents to always work with the children’s perspective in mind, to ensure the best interest of the child.

Three years ago (2020) the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) became law in Sweden. The social service in every municipality has a responsibility to take the children's best into consideration in cases that concern the child. When working with adults, children have to be considered as well. As a social service secretary, it is important to know how to interact with both adults as well as children. It is also important that the secretary implements a childperspective when making an assessment. The CRC is essential to allow the children to be heard as well as to be able to have an impact on decisions that affects them. The four basic principles in CRC are non- discrimination (article 2), the best interest of the child (article 3), the right to life and development (article 6) and having respect for the child's opinion (article 12). This paper is a qualitative study where the aim is to examine how the secretary in social services, on the addiction adult unit, works to achieve the CRCs basic principles in their daily undertakings. The four basic principles are analyzed through CRC and general systems theory to make an assumption as to how the addiction adult unit in Malmö implements the CRC. Five caseworkers on the addiction adult unit were interviewed whereof three is child rights representatives. The result shows that it is up to each secretary to take the CRC in consideration when their client has a child. The lack of knowledge of what all the different units in social service do, is one reason why the cooperation between the units is hard, and sometimes unmotivated. The child rights representatives on the addiction adult unit are working on educating their colleges on how they are supposed to manage a case where the client has a child. At present, the CRC is not perceived to be implemented in the daily work at the addiction adult unit in Malmö. Previous research points to this being the case in more areas within both laws and other operations.

Many scholars seem to be very general in their research regarding child custody. Moreover, those that are not so general, seem to be focusing on areas that do not cover much about the views and feelings of children who are in out of their parents’ home care. This paper has aimed at investigating how Sweden has implemented suggestive improvements from the 2021 investigations, regarding children being placed out of their parents’ home care, to ensure the best interest of the child. Using Bacchi’s WPR policy analysis method, this paper has been able to analyze the 2023 report that was presented to the Swedish government regarding children being placed in out of their parents’ home care. The analysis of this paper has concluded that the Swedish government has recognized the issues that were presented in the 2023 report, and as a result, new laws have been implemented to ensure that children’s needs are met.

In the late parts of the year 2023, the Swedish government through the Justice department released a document investigating the regulation on custodial measures for young people. This documents main suggestion is to enact specially regulated child prisons. In this thesis this investigation is analysed using Carol Bacchi’s WPR model which finds that the problem that is discovered surrounds the rise of grave criminal activity amongst young people, especially involved in criminal gangs. Since Sweden has the CRC incorporated in the law, the compatibility with the convention has also been studied. The investigation shows clear consideration regarding children’s rights priority. The topics the best interests of the child, gang criminality in Sweden and incarceration of children has been included as previous research in this thesis and contribute to the analysis. The findings show that whilst much acknowledgement is made towards children’s rights in the SOU investigation, key threads of children in gang criminality is not included.

Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera socialsekreterarens framgångsfaktorer i samtal med barn. Studien tar utgångspunkt i socialsekreteraren perspektiv kring vad de tycker är det som får det att fungera isamtal med barn inom socialtjänsten. För att identifiera framgångsfaktorer i samtalet så blir det nödvändigt att även belysa när det fungerar mindre bra i samtal med barn.Studien är en kvalitativ intervjustudie där sex yrkesverksamma socialsekreterare intervjuats. Samtliga jobbar med barnsamtal på socialtjänsten inom Umeå kommun. Studien har tillämpat en semistrukturerad intervjuform och studiens data har bearbetats enligt konventionell innehållsanalys för att identifiera vad som möjliggör och vad som försvårar samtal med barn. Inledningsvis utgick inte studien från någon vetenskapsteoretisk grund men efter att resultatet bearbetats ansågs utvecklingspsykologisk teori tillämplig för att få en bättre förståelse för studiens resultat. De identifierade framgångsfaktorerna i samtal med barn utmynnade i vikten för socialsekreteraren att kunna känna tilltro för sin kompetens även när det finns organisatoriska utmaningar. Exempel på identifierade framgångsfaktorer är flexibilitet, trygghet i yrkesrollen, kunna skapa allians, nyfikenhet, förförståelse för barnets utveckling, att inte vara dömande i yrkesrollen samt att se till barnets bästa. Studiens slutsats belyser att socialsekreteraren blir det viktigaste verktyget i samtal med barn.

[pt] A presente dissertação traz uma reflexão sobre a aplicação do princípio do melhor interesse nos conflitos interfamiliares de guarda, buscando a sua origem e levantando alguns critérios que possam nortear a sua utilização, uma vez que não há um conceito expresso na legislação. Nosso objetivo foi verificar se o princípio acima mencionado estava ou não sendo considerado nas decisões judiciais oriundas das disputas de guarda entre os genitores, após o divórcio ou a separação. Para efetivá-lo, desenvolvemos um estudo qualitativo de tipo exploratório junto ao Núcleo de Prática Jurídica da PUC/RJ, procedendo à análise de catorze processos de guarda identificados no período de 1997 a junho de 2007. A leitura e análise dos processos evidenciaram que o princípio do melhor interesse ainda não é totalmente considerado pelos operadores do Direito. Nos processos em que há atuação da equipe técnica (assistentes sociais e psicólogos) pode-se perceber uma conduta que explicitamente coloca a criança/adolescente como personagem principal do processo (prioridade absoluta), ouvindo-os sempre (proteção integral) e averiguando de que forma seriam melhor atendidos (melhor interesse). A conduta de juízes e promotores, por outro lado, não se afigurou, nos processos analisados, como algo que demonstrasse a preocupação com a aplicação do princípio do melhor interesse, mas ao contrário a ênfase era no encerramento dos mesmos a partir de um acordo elaborado apenas com os genitores, desconsiderando as peculiaridades do litígio e em especial o bem estar das crianças e adolescentes envolvidos. / [en] The present dissertation brings a reflection on the application of the principle of the best interest of the child in the interfamiliar conflicts of custody, searching its origin and raising some criteria that can guide its use, once there is not an express concept in the legislation. Our main goal was to verify if the referred principle was being considered or not in the decisions of the disputes of guard between the genitors, after the divorce or the separation. In order to accomplish it, we developed a qualitative and exploratory study at the Núcleo de Prática Júridica of the PUC/RJ, in which fourteen proceedings of custody in the period of 1997 until June of 2007 were analyzed. The analysis of these proceedings showed that the principle of the best interest of the child is not yet taken into consideration by some of the Law workers. The proceedings in which the social workers and psychologists participated we noticed that the adolescent/child were seen as the main characters (absolute priority) so they always got the chance to express their opinions (full protection) and therefore offered the means to point out the most suitable way to solve the cases (best interest). On the other hand, the judges and prosecutors of the analyzed proceedings did not seem to be concerned about the principle of the best interest of the child, their greatest concern was to put an end to the lawsuits making a deal with the parents, disregarding the details of the conflicts and the well being of the children and adolescents involved.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:25:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcos.pdf: 1068659 bytes, checksum: 0b3ddcf69c8c69eaefd4e0712c5b96d4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-06-18 / This work intends to investigate the mutations faced inside the families in history s, and how this changing may open the idea of multi kinship; on other words, the existence of a plurality of fathers and mothers on its relationship with a child. The investigation here is delimited by a western contemporary tradition, and, despite its transdisciplinary pretension, the work will be related mostly to Philosophy, Sociology, Politics and Law (and in the Law discipline, Constitutional Law, Civil Law, and specialy Families Law). Technically, the work will have as a basis the contemporary juridical legal order in Brazil. The hypothesis goes on the sense that is completely possible, using the principles adequately mainly the dignity and child s best interest principles - the uprising of new criterion about the link between children and parenthood, including in a multiple way. In this line, the Law may recognize and ordinate the new situations generated in society s core in XX century softening the cognitive closing specific of certain Law domains, like de Family Law / Este trabalho busca investigar as mutações enfrentadas dentro da família no decorrer da História e como tais mudanças podem possibilitar a idéia de multiparentalidade, isto é, a existência de múltiplos pais e mães com relação a uma criança. A investigação está limitada pela tradição ocidental contemporânea e, apesar de sua pretensão transdisciplinar, o trabalho estará mais ligado à Filosofia, Sociologia, Política e Direito (e, dentro das disciplinas jurídicas, Direito Constitucional e Direito Civil, em especial, o Direito de Família). Dogmaticamente, o trabalho terá como matéria prima o ordenamento jurídico brasileiro atual, e a hipótese que o orienta é a de que é plenamente possível, por meio da utilização adequada dos princípios, especialmente os da dignidade e do melhor interesse da criança, a adoção de novos critérios de vinculação entre pais e filhos, inclusive de modo múltiplo. Assim, o Direito poderá reconhecer e normatizar as novas situações geradas no seio da sociedade do século XX, atenuando, assim, o fechamento cognitivo específico de certos ramos do Direito, como o Direito de Família