The mandate of the National Board of Health and Welfare and The National Competence Center for Relatives, Nka, includes producing and disseminating knowledge about children as next of kin and young carers. They play a central role in disseminating information within the field. The aim of this study is to investigate how they communicate information in this domain. A qualitative content analysis was conducted, and framing theory was used to explore the issue. The empirical data consists of 48 publications that the National Board of Health and Welfare and Nka have released in the field. The study’s findings suggest ways to improve the communication of this information by avoiding certain frames. Frames of economy, comparison, powerlessness, moralization, and impact have been identified in the empirical data. It appears that the use of an economic frame is more common when communicating information about children as next of kin to parents with mental illness or substance abuse. Furthermore, a moralizing frame is used to describe families as “well-functioning”. Keywords: children as relatives, children as next of kin, young carers, framing theory

A lot of children grow up in families with a parent suffering from mental or physical illness, a substance abuse or with a diseased parent. Being a next of kin can result in various health risks, struggles in school and in social life. This study aims to examine professionals’ experiences of working with children as next of kin. The study is based on a qualitative, inductive premise with a sample of fourteen people from eight different municipalities in Sweden. The participants were chosen through means of convenience sampling and the analysis was performed using thematic analysis. The results highlight important conditions for municipalities work with children as next of kin: proper framework, organizational prerequisites, and knowledge. The study offering a new perspective on children as next of kin, which is to consider children as carers using Twigg and Atkin’s (1994) model. The study concludes that children as next of kin need to be considered as carers to be properly recognized in their role and in extension offered support. Therefore, there is a need to recognize this group of children both in law and in policies. It requires organizational commitment, intermunicipal cooperation as well as clear routines in different functions of society. Lastly, this study concludes that awareness of and knowledge regarding children as next of kin, and what support they require, need to be more comprehensive in all parts of society. / Många barn växer upp med en förälder med psykisk eller fysisk sjukdom, ett missbruk eller med en förälder som avlider. Anhörigskapet kan föra med sig risker för barnets hälsa, skolgång och sociala liv. Denna studie ämnar undersöka yrkesverksammas upplevelser och erfarenheter av arbete med barn som anhöriga. Studien utgår från en kvalitativ, induktiv ansats där fjorton personer från åtta olika kommuner i Sverige utgör urvalet. Intervjupersonerna valdes utifrån ett målinriktat bekvämlighetsurval och materialet har analyserats utifrån tematisk analys. Resultatet visar på viktiga förutsättningar för kommunernas arbete med barn som anhöriga: tydliga ramar, organisatoriska förutsättningar och kunskapsbildning. Studien bidrar med ett nytt sätt att se på barn som anhöriga, nämligen att betrakta barn som just anhöriga utifrån användandet av Twigg och Atkins (1994) teori om anhörigskap. Studien konkluderar att barn som anhöriga behöver betraktas som just anhöriga för att synliggöras och erbjudas stöd. För detta krävs ett erkännande av gruppen i lagstiftning och i styrdokument. Det krävs organisatoriskt engagemang, gränsöverskridande samverkan samt tydliga rutiner och riktlinjer för hur barn ska uppmärksammas i olika verksamheter. Slutligen fastslås att medvetenhet och kunskap om barn som anhöriga och vilket stöd de kan få behöver bli mer omfattande på alla nivåer i samhället.