The purpose of this study was to explore if and how the Swedish Supreme Court are using the concept “the child’s best interest”. This concept is used a lot in Swedish legislation, but it needs interpretation every time it´s used and is often perceived as unclear. This makes it interesting to see how this affects the individual child´s legal rights. Furthermore I want to see if the Supreme Court listen to the child´s own opinion and if not, are there any justifications to why not. The study has a quantitative starting point, where I have gone through a number of judgments and then chosen seven out of a qualitative point where there has been a discussion from the Supreme Court around the individual and the best interest of the child for the individual child and the methods of analysis used in this study are social constructionism, legal sociology and analysis of the idea. The study shows a lack of consistency among the professionals of what the concept really stands for, which negatively affects the legal rights for the individual child. The solution is a closer collaboration between social workers, judges and lawyers to make the concept clearer and more applicable.

<p> <p>&nbsp / </p> </p> <p align="left">Whilst policy formulation has been extensively studied and theorised in the literature, far less attention has been paid until fairly recently to the issue of policy implementation. For a long time it was more or less assumed that once policy was formulated, implementation was a relatively straightforward administrative matter. In the past twenty or thirty years, however, public administration scholars (such as Pressman and Wildavsky and, in the South African context, Brynard and de Coning) have devoted more attention to unravelling the complexities of policy implementation. The current study intends to apply these more theoretical approaches to an analysis of the implementation of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare with particular respect to children in conflict with the law, focusing specifically on the One Stop Child Justice Centre in Mangaung, Bloemfontein. Welfare Service in South Africa before 1994 had a racial bias with services mostly unavailable to the majority of the citizens of the country. The 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare, based on a developmental approach to social welfare, was designed to take the country in a new and inclusive direction. In line with South Africa&rsquo / s 1996 ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as other international instruments, Section 4 of Chapter 8 of the White Paper focuses on crime prevention through development and restorative justice, and recommends diversion wherever possible in the case of juveniles. With respect to Juvenile justice, this section of the White Paper makes provision for the establishment of One Stop Child Justice Centres, where a variety of services, from Social Development, the Department of Justice, the South African Police Services, Correctional Services, and the NPA, would be available to clients under one roof. All of these role players, it was envisaged, would operate as a multi-disciplinary team to achieve the objectives of the White Paper with respect to developmental and restorative forms of justice. The Centre at Mangaung is one of only a few centres to have been established as yet in South Africa. Although focusing in particular on the implementation of the 1997 White Paper, the study is also informed by other policy and legislative measures with respect to juvenile justice, in particular the Child Justice Bill of 2002 (now the Child Justice Act of 2008) and the Probation Services Amendment Act of 2002. It is generally accepted by the Government and its critics alike that the policy scene in South Africa in the period since 1994 has been characterized by good policies but poor execution. This is, however, a relatively untested hypothesis and needs further investigation. In the light of this, it is anticipated, that the present study will make a contribution to the literature on policy implementation in South Africa, as well as providing useful insights and lessons that can inform general government policy in this regard, and policy with respect to juvenile justice in particular. Within the general context of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare and the Department of Social Development&rsquo / s Integrated Service Delivery Model, and the specific context of the Mangaung One Stop Child Justice Centre, the overall purpose of the study is to scrutinize the apparent discontinuity between policy design on the one hand and policy implementation on the other. More specifically, though, the objectives of the study are: (i) to examine the content of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare in general and more specifically the section on children in conflict with the law, (ii) to provide a historical overview of the delivery of services to youth in conflict with the law prior to the first democratic elections (1994) in South Africa, (iii) to examine what the concept of &lsquo / integrated service delivery&rsquo / means to the different role-players at the One Stop Child Justice Centre, (iv) to examine the existing resources (human, financial and other) for successful implementation of the policy,(v) to examine whether there are procedures in place to encourage co-operation among stakeholders at the One Stop Child Justice Centre, (vi) to examine the successes, challenges and opportunities presented by the implementation of this policy at the One Stop Child Justice Centre and, (vii) to identify gaps between policy and implementation and make recommendations towards more successful implementation. Detailed semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Centre Manager and senior representatives of all the services involved (Social Development, the SAPS, Magistrates, the Probation Service, and Prosecutors). The interview questions focus mainly on implementation issues and challenges, but also gather information on the knowledge of the interviewees on the content of the policy. In addition, in order to validate and compare the data collected from these respondents, semi-structured interviews were held with six parents/guardians of children in conflict with the law who had been serviced by the centre. Official documents of the centre, such as annual reports, were also consulted for purposes of triangulation. Detailed transcripts will be made of all the interviews. In analysing the data, use was made in particular of the 5C Protocol advocated by Brynard and De Coning (2006) in their study of policy implementation in South Africa. The five C&rsquo / s include the Content of the policy, the Context in which the policy is implemented, Commitment from those implementing the policy, the role of Clients and Coalitions, and the Capacity of those tasked with implementing the policy. In addition other C&rsquo / s which have an impact on policy implementation (such as communication, co-ordination, and change management) will also be considered. Confidentiality of data gathered and anonymity of respondents were ensured by not requiring any personal details from the survey instruments. The sole purpose of using the data gathered for research was communicated to the respondents on the front page of the survey instruments. The choice of also not answering questions raised was respected.</p>

<p>&nbsp / </p> <p>&nbsp / </p> <p>&nbsp / </p> <p align="left">Whilst policy formulation has been extensively studied and theorised in the literature, far less attention has been paid until fairly recently to the issue of policy implementation. For a long time it was more or less assumed that once policy was formulated, implementation was a relatively straightforward administrative matter. In the past twenty or thirty years, however, public administration scholars (such as Pressman and Wildavsky and, in the South African context, Brynard and de Coning) have devoted more attention to unravelling the complexities of policy implementation. The current study intends to apply these more theoretical approaches to an analysis of the implementation of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare with particular respect to children in conflict with the law, focusing specifically on the One Stop Child Justice Centre in Mangaung, Bloemfontein. Welfare Service in South Africa before 1994 had a racial bias with services mostly unavailable to the majority of the citizens of the country. The 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare, based on a developmental approach to social welfare, was designed to take the country in a new and inclusive direction. In line with South Africa&rsquo / s 1996 ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as other international instruments, Section 4 of Chapter 8 of the White Paper focuses on crime prevention through development and restorative justice, and recommends diversion wherever possible in the case of juveniles. With respect to Juvenile justice, this section of the White Paper makes provision for the establishment of One Stop Child Justice Centres, where a variety of services, from Social Development, the Department of Justice, the South African Police Services, Correctional Services, and the NPA, would be available to clients under one roof. All of these role players, it was envisaged, would operate as a multi-disciplinary team to achieve the objectives of the White Paper with respect to developmental and restorative forms of justice. The Centre at Mangaung is one of only a few centres to have been established as yet in South Africa. Although focusing in particular on the implementation of the 1997 White Paper, the study is also informed by other policy and legislative measures with respect to juvenile justice, in particular the Child Justice Bill of 2002 (now the Child Justice Act of 2008) and the Probation Services Amendment Act of 2002. It is generally accepted by the Government and its critics alike that the policy scene in South Africa in the period since 1994 has been characterized by good policies but poor execution. This is, however, a relatively untested hypothesis and needs further investigation. In the light of this, it is anticipated, that the present study will make a contribution to the literature on policy implementation in South Africa, as well as providing useful insights and&nbsp / sessons that can inform general government policy in this regard, and policy with respect to juvenile justice in particular. Within the general context of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare and the Department of Social Development&rsquo / s Integrated Service Delivery Model, and the specific context of the Mangaung One Stop Child Justice Centre, the overall purpose of the study is to scrutinize the apparent discontinuity between policy design on the one hand and policy implementation on the other. More specifically, though, the objectives of the study are: (i) to examine the content of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare in general and more specifically the section on children in conflict with the law, (ii) to provide a historical overview of the delivery of services to youth in conflict with the law prior to the first democratic elections (1994) in South Africa, (iii) to examine what the concept of &lsquo / integrated service delivery&rsquo / means to the different role-players at the One Stop Child Justice Centre, (iv) to examine the existing resources (human, financial and other) for successful implementation of the policy, (v) to examine whether there are procedures in place to encourage co-operation among stakeholders at the One Stop Child Justice Centre, (vi) to examine the successes, challenges and opportunities presented by the implementation of this policy at the One Stop Child Justice Centre and, (vii) to identify gaps between policy and implementation and make recommendations towards more successful implementation. Detailed semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Centre Manager and senior representatives of all the services involved (Social Development, the SAPS, Magistrates, the Probation Service, and Prosecutors). The interview questions focus mainly on implementation issues and challenges, but also gather information on the knowledge of the interviewees on the content of the policy. In addition, in order to validate and compare the data collected from these respondents, semi-structured interviews were held with six parents/guardians of children in conflict with the law who had been serviced by the centre. Official documents of the centre, such as annual reports, were also consulted for purposes of triangulation. Detailed transcripts will be made of all the interviews. In analysing the data, use was made in particular of the 5C Protocol advocated by Brynard and De Coning (2006) in their study of policy implementation in South Africa. The five C&rsquo / s include the Content of the policy, the Context in which the policy is implemented, Commitment from those implementing the policy, the role of Clients and Coalitions, and the Capacity of those tasked with implementing the policy. In addition other C&rsquo / s which have an impact on policy implementation (such as communication, co-ordination, and change management) will also be considered. Confidentiality of data gathered and anonymity of respondents were ensured by not requiring any personal details from the survey instruments. The sole purpose of using the data gathered for research was communicated to the respondents on the front page of the survey instruments. The choice of also not answering questions raised was respected.</p>

<p> <p>&nbsp / </p> </p> <p align="left">Whilst policy formulation has been extensively studied and theorised in the literature, far less attention has been paid until fairly recently to the issue of policy implementation. For a long time it was more or less assumed that once policy was formulated, implementation was a relatively straightforward administrative matter. In the past twenty or thirty years, however, public administration scholars (such as Pressman and Wildavsky and, in the South African context, Brynard and de Coning) have devoted more attention to unravelling the complexities of policy implementation. The current study intends to apply these more theoretical approaches to an analysis of the implementation of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare with particular respect to children in conflict with the law, focusing specifically on the One Stop Child Justice Centre in Mangaung, Bloemfontein. Welfare Service in South Africa before 1994 had a racial bias with services mostly unavailable to the majority of the citizens of the country. The 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare, based on a developmental approach to social welfare, was designed to take the country in a new and inclusive direction. In line with South Africa&rsquo / s 1996 ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as other international instruments, Section 4 of Chapter 8 of the White Paper focuses on crime prevention through development and restorative justice, and recommends diversion wherever possible in the case of juveniles. With respect to Juvenile justice, this section of the White Paper makes provision for the establishment of One Stop Child Justice Centres, where a variety of services, from Social Development, the Department of Justice, the South African Police Services, Correctional Services, and the NPA, would be available to clients under one roof. All of these role players, it was envisaged, would operate as a multi-disciplinary team to achieve the objectives of the White Paper with respect to developmental and restorative forms of justice. The Centre at Mangaung is one of only a few centres to have been established as yet in South Africa. Although focusing in particular on the implementation of the 1997 White Paper, the study is also informed by other policy and legislative measures with respect to juvenile justice, in particular the Child Justice Bill of 2002 (now the Child Justice Act of 2008) and the Probation Services Amendment Act of 2002. It is generally accepted by the Government and its critics alike that the policy scene in South Africa in the period since 1994 has been characterized by good policies but poor execution. This is, however, a relatively untested hypothesis and needs further investigation. In the light of this, it is anticipated, that the present study will make a contribution to the literature on policy implementation in South Africa, as well as providing useful insights and lessons that can inform general government policy in this regard, and policy with respect to juvenile justice in particular. Within the general context of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare and the Department of Social Development&rsquo / s Integrated Service Delivery Model, and the specific context of the Mangaung One Stop Child Justice Centre, the overall purpose of the study is to scrutinize the apparent discontinuity between policy design on the one hand and policy implementation on the other. More specifically, though, the objectives of the study are: (i) to examine the content of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare in general and more specifically the section on children in conflict with the law, (ii) to provide a historical overview of the delivery of services to youth in conflict with the law prior to the first democratic elections (1994) in South Africa, (iii) to examine what the concept of &lsquo / integrated service delivery&rsquo / means to the different role-players at the One Stop Child Justice Centre, (iv) to examine the existing resources (human, financial and other) for successful implementation of the policy,(v) to examine whether there are procedures in place to encourage co-operation among stakeholders at the One Stop Child Justice Centre, (vi) to examine the successes, challenges and opportunities presented by the implementation of this policy at the One Stop Child Justice Centre and, (vii) to identify gaps between policy and implementation and make recommendations towards more successful implementation. Detailed semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Centre Manager and senior representatives of all the services involved (Social Development, the SAPS, Magistrates, the Probation Service, and Prosecutors). The interview questions focus mainly on implementation issues and challenges, but also gather information on the knowledge of the interviewees on the content of the policy. In addition, in order to validate and compare the data collected from these respondents, semi-structured interviews were held with six parents/guardians of children in conflict with the law who had been serviced by the centre. Official documents of the centre, such as annual reports, were also consulted for purposes of triangulation. Detailed transcripts will be made of all the interviews. In analysing the data, use was made in particular of the 5C Protocol advocated by Brynard and De Coning (2006) in their study of policy implementation in South Africa. The five C&rsquo / s include the Content of the policy, the Context in which the policy is implemented, Commitment from those implementing the policy, the role of Clients and Coalitions, and the Capacity of those tasked with implementing the policy. In addition other C&rsquo / s which have an impact on policy implementation (such as communication, co-ordination, and change management) will also be considered. Confidentiality of data gathered and anonymity of respondents were ensured by not requiring any personal details from the survey instruments. The sole purpose of using the data gathered for research was communicated to the respondents on the front page of the survey instruments. The choice of also not answering questions raised was respected.</p>

<p>&nbsp / </p> <p>&nbsp / </p> <p>&nbsp / </p> <p align="left">Whilst policy formulation has been extensively studied and theorised in the literature, far less attention has been paid until fairly recently to the issue of policy implementation. For a long time it was more or less assumed that once policy was formulated, implementation was a relatively straightforward administrative matter. In the past twenty or thirty years, however, public administration scholars (such as Pressman and Wildavsky and, in the South African context, Brynard and de Coning) have devoted more attention to unravelling the complexities of policy implementation. The current study intends to apply these more theoretical approaches to an analysis of the implementation of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare with particular respect to children in conflict with the law, focusing specifically on the One Stop Child Justice Centre in Mangaung, Bloemfontein. Welfare Service in South Africa before 1994 had a racial bias with services mostly unavailable to the majority of the citizens of the country. The 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare, based on a developmental approach to social welfare, was designed to take the country in a new and inclusive direction. In line with South Africa&rsquo / s 1996 ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as other international instruments, Section 4 of Chapter 8 of the White Paper focuses on crime prevention through development and restorative justice, and recommends diversion wherever possible in the case of juveniles. With respect to Juvenile justice, this section of the White Paper makes provision for the establishment of One Stop Child Justice Centres, where a variety of services, from Social Development, the Department of Justice, the South African Police Services, Correctional Services, and the NPA, would be available to clients under one roof. All of these role players, it was envisaged, would operate as a multi-disciplinary team to achieve the objectives of the White Paper with respect to developmental and restorative forms of justice. The Centre at Mangaung is one of only a few centres to have been established as yet in South Africa. Although focusing in particular on the implementation of the 1997 White Paper, the study is also informed by other policy and legislative measures with respect to juvenile justice, in particular the Child Justice Bill of 2002 (now the Child Justice Act of 2008) and the Probation Services Amendment Act of 2002. It is generally accepted by the Government and its critics alike that the policy scene in South Africa in the period since 1994 has been characterized by good policies but poor execution. This is, however, a relatively untested hypothesis and needs further investigation. In the light of this, it is anticipated, that the present study will make a contribution to the literature on policy implementation in South Africa, as well as providing useful insights and&nbsp / sessons that can inform general government policy in this regard, and policy with respect to juvenile justice in particular. Within the general context of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare and the Department of Social Development&rsquo / s Integrated Service Delivery Model, and the specific context of the Mangaung One Stop Child Justice Centre, the overall purpose of the study is to scrutinize the apparent discontinuity between policy design on the one hand and policy implementation on the other. More specifically, though, the objectives of the study are: (i) to examine the content of the 1997 White Paper for Social Welfare in general and more specifically the section on children in conflict with the law, (ii) to provide a historical overview of the delivery of services to youth in conflict with the law prior to the first democratic elections (1994) in South Africa, (iii) to examine what the concept of &lsquo / integrated service delivery&rsquo / means to the different role-players at the One Stop Child Justice Centre, (iv) to examine the existing resources (human, financial and other) for successful implementation of the policy, (v) to examine whether there are procedures in place to encourage co-operation among stakeholders at the One Stop Child Justice Centre, (vi) to examine the successes, challenges and opportunities presented by the implementation of this policy at the One Stop Child Justice Centre and, (vii) to identify gaps between policy and implementation and make recommendations towards more successful implementation. Detailed semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Centre Manager and senior representatives of all the services involved (Social Development, the SAPS, Magistrates, the Probation Service, and Prosecutors). The interview questions focus mainly on implementation issues and challenges, but also gather information on the knowledge of the interviewees on the content of the policy. In addition, in order to validate and compare the data collected from these respondents, semi-structured interviews were held with six parents/guardians of children in conflict with the law who had been serviced by the centre. Official documents of the centre, such as annual reports, were also consulted for purposes of triangulation. Detailed transcripts will be made of all the interviews. In analysing the data, use was made in particular of the 5C Protocol advocated by Brynard and De Coning (2006) in their study of policy implementation in South Africa. The five C&rsquo / s include the Content of the policy, the Context in which the policy is implemented, Commitment from those implementing the policy, the role of Clients and Coalitions, and the Capacity of those tasked with implementing the policy. In addition other C&rsquo / s which have an impact on policy implementation (such as communication, co-ordination, and change management) will also be considered. Confidentiality of data gathered and anonymity of respondents were ensured by not requiring any personal details from the survey instruments. The sole purpose of using the data gathered for research was communicated to the respondents on the front page of the survey instruments. The choice of also not answering questions raised was respected.</p>

The right of child victims of armed conflict to recovery and reintegration in essence is a particular exposition of the public law relationship. In this study reference is made to the theory of public subjective rights as it applies in German law to explain the relationship. Shortcomings in the theory are identified after which aspects of the Reformed Tradition are discussed to come to sound solutions. An effort is made to establish a theoretical framework in terms of which the relationship can be explained comprehensively. The conclusion is reached that particular status aspects of child victims are activated in their relationship with the State. It is only in terms of the negative and positive status aspects (which relate to the juridical destination of the State) that child victims may demand negative or positive State conduct in their favour. / Thesis (LL.M.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

The right of child victims of armed conflict to recovery and reintegration in essence is a particular exposition of the public law relationship. In this study reference is made to the theory of public subjective rights as it applies in German law to explain the relationship. Shortcomings in the theory are identified after which aspects of the Reformed Tradition are discussed to come to sound solutions. An effort is made to establish a theoretical framework in terms of which the relationship can be explained comprehensively. The conclusion is reached that particular status aspects of child victims are activated in their relationship with the State. It is only in terms of the negative and positive status aspects (which relate to the juridical destination of the State) that child victims may demand negative or positive State conduct in their favour. / Thesis (LL.M.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

我國每年有將近4,000名基於家庭功能喪失、遭受虐待抑或本身行為等因素而進入安置機構的兒童及少年，這些兒少是我們社會中最為弱勢的一群人之一，他們在機構內是否獲得必要之協助及照顧，對於這群兒少未來的成長及發展係至關重要。然而近年來國內許多學者針對機構內兒少權益遭受剝奪或侵害的問題已提出應有所變革的呼籲及建言，希望能獲得政府及社會的關注。本文希望能藉由對於國內相關法律規範之整理以及比較法的研究，對於社會工作研究者所提出 之種種涉及機構內兒少權益的問題提出法律面的觀點及思考。 聯合國1989年兒童權利公約已明確宣示兒童為權利的主體，此一宣示對於兒童具有劃時代的意義。兒童從過去歷史中「不被看見的人」轉而成為「被保護的客體」，如今已然具有「權利主體」的地位。依據聯合國兒童權利委員會就兒童權利公約所為之闡釋，唯有將兒童的法律地位由「被保護的客體」提升為「權利主體」，即所謂「典範移轉」(paradigm shift)的思維，方能具體落實兒童的權利主體性。藉由近年來英國學者對於英國法院就兒童權利之判解實務所提出之批評及思辨，筆者嘗試說明除應於法律制定時正視兒童各項權利及其保障外，在司法審判實務上，「典範移轉」所要求的是法院應將兒童的權利置於裁判的天平並確實加以檢視。在英國，法院長期以「兒童福祉」而非「兒童權利」作為判決考量中心點的做法，亦已引發學者批評為不符合兒童權利的思潮發展。 對於國家究竟應如何提供被安置兒少所需之安置服務以及應如何確保其權利，本文係以英國為比較法之借鏡，並說明英國兒童安置之法律規範係以兒童權利為核心，特別著重就安置服務的提供應彰顯兒童的個體性，以及兒童應獲得必要的協助以確保其權利的行使。具體而言，本文指出英國為保障被安置兒童之權益建置了諸多的法律機制，其中包括藉由不同位階之法律規範及指導方針縝密地規範安置保護的執行、安置事件中法律監護人的設置、地方政府與民間安置機構委外契約就兒童安置成果約定的具體化、被安置兒童申訴機制的完備、以及由獨立性外部機關來執行安置機構的評鑑等。本文最後並藉由國際公約及比較法的省思，對我國相關法制提出初步之修法建議。 / Around 4,000 children in Taiwan today live in residential institutions due to domestic violence, family dysfunction or as a consequence of their own behaviour. These children are among the country’s most vulnerable. In this thesis, I intend to consider the rights of children living in such institutions, with a view to recommending that Taiwan’s legal framework be based on a ‘child rights’ approach’. The importance of the status of children as rights-holders has long been recognised by the international community. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child stated that a ‘paradigm shift’ is needed to change the perception of children as ‘objects in need of assistance and protection’ to holders of non-negotiable rights. To bring about this ‘paradigm shift’, as argued by leading children’s law academics in England, I shall stress that not only is there a need for children’s rights to be given prominence in domestic legislation, but domestic courts, lawyers, social workers and those who work with children must also take children’s rights more seriously. In this thesis, in an overview of the English child-care legislative framework, I shall identify the key features of a child-care system that I believe is centred on children and their rights. I shall then reflect on the present state of institutional child care in Taiwan, placing emphasis on those aspects of the English model that I consider may be used as references for its development.

Mental health is a major child public health issue in Sweden. The overall aims of this thesis are to explore girls’ and boys’ perspectives on mental health and on mental health-promoting initiatives, and to deepen the knowledge of disclosure and support for ado-lescents at risk of abuse and neglect. Four studies are included in the thesis, and a qualitative descriptive design was chosen. In three of the studies (Studies I, II, and III), adolescents in Sweden were interviewed individually or in focus-groups. In the fourth study (IV) officials and politicians in nine municipalities in Sweden were interviewed, and documents were analysed in a multiple-case-study design. In study I the adolescents were asked about the mental health-promoting dialogue with the school nurse. The results reveal that what the adolescents found important were trustiness, attentiveness, respectfulness, authenticity, accessibility, and continuity. The adolescents also had certain views on what issues to talk about in the health dialogue; physical and psychological issues should be included. In Study II, the adolescents perceived “mental health” to be an emotional experience with positive and negative aspects of internal and relational feelings. Family, friends, and school were regarded as important determinants of mental health by the adolescents. Neither girls nor boys thought that there were any major differences in mental health between girls and boys, but did think they were subject to different expectations. In Study III the results show that adolescents with families with alcohol problems are unsure whether to disclose their home situation to an adult; the adolescents seem to make a risk assessment when looking for trustworthy adults. It is a disclosure process. Friends are confidants and supportive, and sometimes facilitators for contacting adults, when support from adults is needed. Study IV show that even small grants to municipalities for children-at-risk projects lead to more activities for these children and adolescents. But children or adolescents were not involved in the planning or decision-making of the activities. The studies in this thesis show that most important thing for adolescents’ mental health is the relation between adolescents and adults, foremost parents, and between adolescents and friends. In addition, gender and age, adolescents’ perspec¬tives and par-ticipation, and society’s support, including the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, have an impact on adolescents’ mental health, both for ado-lescents in general and for adolescents at risk of abuse and neglect. The results are viewed in relation to the bioecological model, to illustrate how all levels in society influence mental health among adolescents, on an individual and a population plane. The findings have implications for adults: to learn more about adolescents and puberty, and about the home situation for children and adolescents at risk of abuse and neglect; to listen to suggestions from children and adolescents; to include friends in support to adolescents at risk of abuse and neglect; and to include girls and boys in all matters concerning them.

In this thesis I have concentrated on legal consciousness of children but not from their point of view, how it was in most cases of the elaboration of this topic, but from the point of view of people who actually work with children. This regards pedagogues, social workers, further school psychologists and psychologists. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the right, legal consciousness, further then with the important conception ?child?, namely from the point of view of pedagogy, psychology as well as from the viewpoint of law. The thesis deals with morals itself and also its comparison with law, further with the value system and education, on important documents regarding the rights of children, educational program and its focus on the education of law in elementary and high schools. The important section of the theoretical part are also projects focused on increasing of the legal consciousness executed in the Czech republic as well as in the Southbohemian region. 144 respondents from the Southbohemian region took part in the research, either respondents who work in an elementary or high school, eventually in non-profit organizations which work with children. The difference of the opinions between pedagogues nad other workers was found out by the research. In contrast to other workers, the pedagogues think statistically more often that children have the legal consciousness. A very interesting moment is the age since which children should be acquinted with their rights. Other workers consider the beginning of the school attendance (or even the end of the preschool attendance) as the optimal age for familiarising the children with their rights in contrast to the pedagogues who would shift this limit almost to the second degrese of elementary schools. Next founded and documentary fact was the difference in methods used for familiarising children with their rights. The pedagogues combine discussions and lectures as well as model situations. Other workers prefer only lectures and discussions. They vary also in the evaluation of time dotation devoted to the rights of children during school education. Other workers are much more critical than the pedagogues in this regard. It was proved that the pedagogues more often do not know the organizations which deal with the rights of children whereas other workers do. The whole research is assumed into SWOT analysis which determined children´s interest in their rights and their familiarising with the right already since 1st class as the most strong sides. A weak spot showed to be the lack of time in school education devoted to children´s rights together with obtaining the biggest amount of information in the family. A chance is the realization of more new projects focused on concrete spheres of the rights and also the fact that the legal consciousness should be constantly increased. The risk is insufficient knowledge of rights in the sphere of the protection of personality when easy misuse and also insufficient knowledge of rights threaten. The insufficient knowledge could result in the increase of transgressions even criminality.