<p>The general aim of this dissertation is to describe and analyse how public old-age care in Sweden has developed and changed during the last century. The study applies a provider perspective on how care has been planned and professionally carried out. A broader social policy perspective, studying old-age care at central/national as well as local/municipal level, is also developed. A special focus is directed at the large local variation in care and services for the elderly. The empirical base is comprised of official documents and other public sources, survey data from interviews with elderly recipients of public old-age care, and official statistics on publicly financed and controlled old-age care and services.</p><p>Study I addresses the development of old-age care in Sweden during the twentieth century by studying an important occupation in this field – the supervisors and their professional roles, tasks and working conditions. Throughout, the roles of supervisors have followed the prevailing official policy on the proper way to provide care for elderly people in Sweden; from poor relief at the beginning of the 1900s, via a generous level of services in the 1960s and 1970s, to today’s restricted and economy-controlled mode of operation.</p><p>Study II describes and compares two main forms of public old-age care in Sweden today, home help services and institutional care. The care-load found in home-based care was comparable to and sometimes even larger than in service-homes and other institutions, indicating that large care needs among elderly people in Sweden today can be met in their homes as well as in institutional settings.</p><p>Studies III and IV analyse the local variation in public old-age care in Sweden. During the last decades there has been an overall decline in home help services. The coverage of home help for elderly people shows large differences between municipalities throughout this period, and the relative variation has increased. The local disparity seems to depend more on historical factors, e.g., previous coverage rates, than on the present municipal situation in levels of need or local economy and politics.</p><p>In an introductory part the four papers are linked together by an outline of the demographic situation and the social policy model for old-age care in Sweden. Trends that have been apparent over time, e.g. professionalisation and market orientation, are traced and discussed. Conflicts between prevailing ideologies are analysed, in regards to for instance home-based and institution-based care, social and medical culture, and local and central levels of decision-making. ’Welfare municipality’, ‘path dependency’, and ‘decentralisation’ are suggested as a conceptual framework for describing the large and increasing local variations in old-age care. Finally, implications of the four studies with regard to old-age care policy and further research are discussed.</p>

<p>This paper has focused on specific aspects of the law concerning the 3rd paragraph of The Care of Young Persons Act (1990:52), LVU. The purpose of this study was to examine the prerequisite <em>other social destructive behaviour</em> in four cases where youths has been under compulsory institutional care because of their computer gaming. The study was composed on a legal dogmatic method and a legal sociologist perspective. The legal dogmatic method implies to examine the law and its elaboration, the legal sociologist perspective focus on the consequences and causes of the court of law. The study shows that problematic computer gaming is an increasing problem in society and that <em>other social destructive behaviour</em> is a wide prerequisite that need new amendment in order to ensure citizens certainty.</p>

<p>Vårt syfte med uppsatsen var att ta reda på om KASAM-begreppet, trots att det har några år på nacken, fortfarande ses som betydelsefullt. Vi utgick från personalens perspektiv gällande KASAM's betydelse för barn 0-12 år, placerade på institution eller med någon form av insats från öppenvården. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer tog vi del av personalens erfarenheter av KASAM's betydelse för barnen, hur de arbetar och om de metoder de använder sig av , ger möjlighet att skapa en känsla av sammanhang för barnen. Vid tolkningen av vårt intervjumaterial utgick vi från tre teman baserade på våra frågeställningar. Det som framkom av materialet var att KASAM har stor betydelse för barnens välbefinnande. KASAM-begreppet är högst närvarande i de metoder som används inom verksamheterna, även om personalen inte talar om det i termer av KASAM.</p><p> </p>

This paper has focused on specific aspects of the law concerning the 3rd paragraph of The Care of Young Persons Act (1990:52), LVU. The purpose of this study was to examine the prerequisite other social destructive behaviour in four cases where youths has been under compulsory institutional care because of their computer gaming. The study was composed on a legal dogmatic method and a legal sociologist perspective. The legal dogmatic method implies to examine the law and its elaboration, the legal sociologist perspective focus on the consequences and causes of the court of law. The study shows that problematic computer gaming is an increasing problem in society and that other social destructive behaviour is a wide prerequisite that need new amendment in order to ensure citizens certainty.

The intention of this study was to examine the interaction between authorities. More specifically it had a purpose to look at the ongoing cooperation between social workers and staff of special homes of closed institutional youth care. The sanction system for young offenders’ reform of 1999 where young people between the ages of 15-17 who have committed serious crimes, can be sentenced to secure institutional treatment instead of prison, aims to counteract the harm which can result from a stay in prison. The social welfare board in the young person´s local authority and the national board of institutional care shall cooperate during the youth’s placement at the special home of closed institutional youth care. This study was based on eight qualitative interviews with social workers chosen randomly from all over Sweden and staff members from different special homes of closed institutional youth care. To interpret the material we have been using theory of collaboration and cooperation of Danermark and Kullberg. We have also used earlier studies within the area. The study has resulted that the social welfare board are more satisfied with the corporation than the national board of institutional care are. The study also shows that there has been an improvement. Significant reasons for this result has proved to be; the two different employers with different mission statement who are cooperating, unclear guidelines and the lack of knowledge within in the social services. Today there’s an ongoing cooperation that needs to be developed.

Vårt syfte med uppsatsen var att ta reda på om KASAM-begreppet, trots att det har några år på nacken, fortfarande ses som betydelsefullt. Vi utgick från personalens perspektiv gällande KASAM's betydelse för barn 0-12 år, placerade på institution eller med någon form av insats från öppenvården. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer tog vi del av personalens erfarenheter av KASAM's betydelse för barnen, hur de arbetar och om de metoder de använder sig av , ger möjlighet att skapa en känsla av sammanhang för barnen. Vid tolkningen av vårt intervjumaterial utgick vi från tre teman baserade på våra frågeställningar. Det som framkom av materialet var att KASAM har stor betydelse för barnens välbefinnande. KASAM-begreppet är högst närvarande i de metoder som används inom verksamheterna, även om personalen inte talar om det i termer av KASAM.

Denna studie granskar förvaltningsrättens barnperspektiv i sex domstolsbeslut då ungdomar dömts till tvångsvård enligt 3 § LVU. Studien syftar till att granska om förvaltningsrättens bedömningar är rättsäkra genom att analysera om barnperspektivet beaktas i besluten. Studien syftar även till att studera det tidigare forskningsfältet om tvångsvård av unga för att undersöka vilka effekter tvångsvård kan leda till för den unge. Genom en kritisk diskursanalys har domstolsbesluten analyserats utifrån teorier om makt samt barnkonventionens riktlinjer och föreskrifter. Vidare har tidigare forskning analyserats för att studera tvångsvårdens effekter på ungdomarna. Studien visar att tvångsvård kan leda till negativa effekter för ungdomarna. Vidare framkommer det i studien att barnperspektivets mångfacetterade karaktär kommer till uttryck i domstolsbeslutens olika tolkningar och konstruktioner, där rättssäkerheten gällande barnperspektivet har tolkats fått olika ställning i besluten. De olika konstruktionerna av besluten visar att det tycks finnas en problematik med tolkningen av lagtexten i förvaltningsrättens bedömningar och att barnkonventionens föreskrifter inte alltid användas i tillräcklig utsträckning. I beslutens komplexitet får barnet ibland både en objektsstatus och/eller en subjektsstatus. Barnets position under processens gång är därför en central fråga för att säkerställa ett rättssäkert barnperspektiv. / This study analyzes the administrative court and if they ensure the “child's perspective” when judging youths to compulsory care. This has been studied by reviewing CRC:s guidelines and if the court follows these guidelines and applicable laws in their decisions. The material that have been analyzed consists of six court decisions concerning youth that are convicted pursuant to 3 § LVU. The study also intends to see what effects compulsory care has on youth. The court decisions are analyzed through a critical discourse analysis based on theories of power. Furthermore, previous research is analyzed relating to the child's best interests and the consequences for youth being placed in compulsory care to see what effects it can lead to. The study has shown that compulsory care can lead to negative effects for the youth and that the child’s perspective has a multifaceted character which is reflected in the court decisions different interpretations and constructions. The various constructions in the decisions have shown that there seems to be some problems with the interpretation of the law and that the CRC's guidelines are not always used sufficiently. The complexity of decisions shows that the child at times is seen as both as an object and/or a subject. The child's position during the process is therefore a key issue to ensure a legally secure child's perspective.

The aim of this thesis was to explore the key care factors that influence the educational achievement of children looked after at home and away from home in Scotland. Traditionally there has been less research conducted in Scotland than in the rest of the United Kingdom. The research analysed a large new sample - one fifth of the care leaving population in Scotland - and spans a five year period. The thesis makes an original research contribution. A unique features of the research is that it investigates the experiences of children looked after at home, alongside those looked after away from home. In addition, the research involved two large local authority areas in Scotland that had not previously participated in such research on looked after children. What emerged from the research was that the Corporate Parent (local authorities and partner agencies) had not yet successfully prioritised the educational achievement of looked after children in policy and practice, despite education being identified by the government as a mechanism for combating social exclusion. The key findings of the research demonstrated that looked after children perform less well academically than the general school population. In particular, placement type, the reason for becoming looked after and the age on becoming looked after were significant factors in determining educational achievement. Other factors such as gender and number of placements were also found to be associated with educational achievement. Empirical results further indicated that looked after children suffered from discrimination and social exclusion in all aspects of their lives, including school and where they lived. This was a significant finding as the disadvantage experienced by many looked after children continues to impact on their lives into adulthood, making them some of the most socially excluded adults in Scotland and the United Kingdom today.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

The roll-out of Anti-retroviral Therapy in South Africa has enabled perinatally HIV infected children to reach the adolescent phase. It is important to acknowledge that the psycho-social experiences of perinatally HIV infected children differ from other adolescents. This study explored the psychosocial experiences of perinatally HIV infected adolescents residing in Child and Youth Care Centres in Pretoria. Using qualitative interpretive-descriptive methodology, the sample consisted of eight perinatally HIV infected adolescents, two social workers and ten child and youth care workers from two Child and Youth Care Centres. Data was collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews with perinatally HIV positive adolescents and two focus groups were held with child and youth care workers and social workers. The use of these two data collection methods enhanced the reliability and trustworthiness of the data. Using social constructionism as the key conceptual framework, there were four key themes and subthemes that distilled from the interviews and focus groups. The results revealed that perinatally HIV infected adolescents have difficulties discussing their status and that they used blocking as a coping strategy to avoid the subject. Disclosure was difficult for the adolescents as they were acutely aware of stigma and discrimination. With regards to adherence to medication there was lack of self-efficacy as the adolescents relied mostly on Child and Youth care workers and social workers. Finally in both Child and Youth Care centres, lack of on-going disclosure and discussion about HIV hindered the availability of psychosocial support services. This study concludes that child and youth care centres should develop programs which focus on support topics such as sexuality, disclosure and self-esteem. The Department of Social development should implement psychosocial support training specifically for Child and Youth care workers and Social workers working with perinatally HIV positive children. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.