The aim of this study was to examine whether certain background variables (sex, age group, reasons for placement, amount of problems, involuntary placement/voluntary placement) affect the probability of children/youths being placed in emergency homes (jourhem) and whether these variables correlate with the occurrence of placement breakdown. The material consists of 445 requests for children/youths to be placed in emergency homes in six municipalities within the Stockholm region during a three-year-period (2016-2018). Frequency tables, cross tables and simple and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data and Bronfenbrenner's theory of developmental ecology was used as the theoretical framework. Results show that emergency homes differ from other types of placement in some regards: behavioral problems reduced the probability of placement occurring significantly compared to problems relating to the parent's abilities as a caregiver. Youths had a significantly higher risk for placement breakdown than children. Involuntary care reduced the likelihood of placement occurring and increased the risk for placement breakdown compared to voluntary placement. The prevalence of placement breakdowns was similar to the figures found in prior research on other forms of placements. The implications for social work and the need for further research is discussed.