Abstract The essay aims to investigate what was considered a good home during welfare Sweden, starting fromKarlstad's child care activities concerning foster homes and foster children 1930–1943. As well asexamining the discourses and practices the child welfare board uses in their inspections of foster homes.The study is qualitative with quantitative elements in the scope of the material and the appendices foundafter the list of sources and literature. Furthermore, the essay answers questions about how the good homewas defined by the child care board? Who applied to become foster parents and how were the homesdescribed in the applications? On what grounds were the decisions about foster care placements made?Furthermore, the source material has been analyzed with Helena Bergman's welfare state theory, as wellas Ann-Sofie Bergman's interpretation of practice and discourse as theory. The background to the studylies in the construction of public housing which was current during the 1930s. Furthermore, how normsand ideals governed the child care board's work regarding foster home placements in the years 1930 –1943. The analysis of the source material shows how the child care board issued various financial grantsto foster homes as well as child care allowances. In inspections that were carried out, the child care boardchecked the suitability of the home in terms of how the foster family lived, whether the home was cleanand tidy, and whether the foster child managed his schooling and any work duties. In the aspect ofsuitability, the child care board considered that old or sick foster parents were not suitable. Based on thesource material about registered foster homes, the demands on children that foster parents had can be seen,which could vary in age and gender. A discernible pattern is that all foster parents wanted foster childrenwho were mostly boys in their early teens, who could help work.In conclusion, some children were in demand and some children were not, foster parents above all wantedhealthy and easy-to-raise children. The Child Care Board worked to counteract overcrowding and promotehealth in foster homes. An ideal foster home was a foster home in the countryside, where the foster childrenhad access to fresh air and light. During the first half of the 20th century, the Child Welfare Boardincreasingly became a political arena, where social policy reforms were applied to a greater extent, in theform of social reforms such as grants and action for the child's right to care. However, it was delicateregarding what was actually in the best interest of the child and the best of society, the ideal of childhoodsaid that the child should have caring parents and the right to play, in several foster homes foster childrenhad to act as labor for the benefit of the foster parents. Those who were considered difficult to place infoster homes, because of their origin or behavior, were sent to orphanages. Keyword: foster home, foster child, welfare, good home.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:kau-93108 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Eriksson, Louise |
| Publisher | Karlstads universitet, Fakulteten för humaniora och samhällsvetenskap (from 2013) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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