Den särskilda statliga ersättningen för vanvård i den sociala barnavården – från utredning till ersättning

År 2006 valde den svenska regeringen att tillsätta en utredning för att kartlägga omfattningen av den vanvård som skett i den sociala barnavården. Utredningen bedrevs främst genom intervjuer med frivilliga, som ville berätta om vad de utsatts för i sin barndom. Över 1000 personer blev intervjuade, det stora intresset var inte väntat utan utredningen överskred sina tidsramar både en och två gånger. Innan den första utredningen, kort benämnd Vanvårdsutredningen, hade avslutats stod det klart att en ny utredning, Upprättelseutredningen, måste initieras. Upprättelseutredningen hade som syfte att ge förslag på hur en upprättelseprocess för de drabbade skulle kunna se ut. Förslaget innebar en process i tre steg: ett erkännande och en ursäkt, en ekonomisk kompensation samt åtgärder för att förhindra upprepning. Upprättelseutredningens förslag på en ekonomisk kompensation innebar att en statlig ersättning skulle utges till de drabbade, trots att någon egentlig ersättningsskyldighet för staten inte förelåg. Staten följde utredningens rekommendation och införde en ny lag som ger möjlighet till ersättning, lagen (2012:663) om ersättning på grund av övergrepp eller försummelser i samhällsvården av barn och unga i vissa fall. Lagen började gälla den första januari 2013 och ger rätt för de som drabbades av vanvård när de var placerade i den sociala barnavården mellan åren 1920-1980 att ansöka om ersättning hos en särskild nämnd kallad Ersättningsnämnden. Ersättningen måste sökas senast den sista december 2014. Lagen ställer upp ett antal specifika villkor, villkor som Ersättningsnämnden har att bedöma om de är uppfyllda eller inte i varje enskilt fall. Till sin hjälp att tolka villkoren har nämnden lagens proposition. Lagen och propositionen blev hårt kritiserade från flera håll när det framkom att hela 43 % av de som ansökt om ersättning fått avslag, efter att nästan ett år av beslutsfattande passerat. Kritiken handlade framförallt om att ersättningen är för svår att få – något som många menar har som konsekvens att ersättningen inte alls fyller sitt syfte som upprättelse, utan snarare innebär att staten återigen sviker de drabbade.The Swedish government initiated an inquiry in 2006 to survey the extent of serious abuse or neglect of children in social care. The inquiry took place primarily through interviews with volunteers who wanted to share what had happened to them in their childhood. More than 1000 people were interviewed, the huge interest was not expected and the time frame for the inquiry had to be extended not once, but twice. Before the completion of the first inquiry, Vanvårdsutredningen (inquiry of serious abuse or neglect), a new inquiry had to be initiated – Upprättelseutredningen (inquiry of redress). The purpose of the new inquiry was to suggest a redress for those affected by the deficiencies in social care. The suggestion intended a three step process: a recognition and an apology, an economic compensation and to develop measures to prevent similar events from happening again. The inquiry suggested that the government should give an economic compensation even though there was no legal obligation for the government to do so. The government followed this suggestion and introduced a new law granting economic compensation. The law entered into force on the 1st of January 2013 and gives those who were subjected to serious abuse or neglect as a child in social care between 1920 and 1980 the right to apply for compensation with Ersättningsnämnden, the government agency examining the eligibility for compensation. It is possible to apply for the compensation up to and including the 31st of December 2014. The law stipulates a number of conditions whose fulfillment has to be evaluated by Ersättningsnämnden in every single case. The government bill serves as a guidance of interpretation. The law and the government bill were widely criticized when it became clear that 43 % of those who have applied for compensation have been denied such, after almost one year of decision making conducted by the agency. The criticism mainly referred to the fact that the compensation is too difficult to receive – to many the consequence of this is, that the compensation system does not fulfill its purpose as a means of redress, instead the government once more lets down those affected

Vuxnas erfarenheter av fosterhemsplacering som barn

The purpose of our research was to focus on children that were placed in foster care and from their experiences understand how that affected them in their adult life. The method of our choice for the report was a qualitative content analysis. In our report we have used empirical data from four autobiographies written by adults placed in foster care as children. A conclusion was that all adults had sometime experienced inferiority towards the social worker. It was shown that the adults that were placed in foster care as a child had not had the possibility to influence decisions made regarding their placements. Further, the foster children saw themselves as different to other children that were not in foster care. Their feelings of being different were confirmed when they were discriminated by various means. As adults they described a fear of not being allowed to stay with their foster families at the same time as they found it difficult to adjust to the family’s rules and norms. They felt affinity with the foster family, but also felt as being part of it

Att beforska barn och unga i hem, skola, samhällsvård och kriminalvård

The article describes and analyses the legal framework concerning children’s participation in research in Sweden. Research on children is one way to improve children’s living conditions. For example, there is a need for knowledge about children’s and young people’s situation at home, at school, in community care and in correctional facilities. It is inevitable that there arise both ethical and legal issues concerning this research. A law has been in force since 2004, which deals with vetting the ethics of research that involves humans, i.e. the Act (2003:460) concerning the Ethical Review of Research Involving Humans. The article aims to analyze the legal preconditions according to this legislation for conducting social science research on children and young people in Sweden and to discuss the child’s status as a research person from a child-rights and vulnerability perspective. In addition to the legal framework, decisions by the Central Ethical Review Board that concern research on children within the social sciences are examined and discussed

Bevisprövningsdilemman och snäva rekvisit i lagen (2012:663) om ersättning på grund av övergrepp och försummelser i samhällsvården av barn och unga i vissa fall - En rättssäkerhetsstudie

Den statligt tillsatta Vanvårdsutredningen konstaterade år 2010 att det under en stor del av 1900-talet förekommit många fall av allvarliga försummelser och övergrepp vid institutioner och familjehem inom den sociala barnavården. Med anledning av vad hade som presenterats tillsatte regeringen därefter Upprättelseutredningen med uppdrag att närmare utreda möjligheterna till upprättelse för de barn som utsattes för vanvård under tidsperioden 1920-1980. Upprättelseutredningen menade att det främst var samhället som bar ansvaret för den vanvård som hade ägt rum inom ramen för den sociala barnavården och att ett beviljande av en särskild statlig ersättning skulle utgöra ett viktigt led i en upprättelseprocess och ett erkännande av vad som hade hänt. Vidare anfördes att eventuella skadeståndsanspråk enligt normala ersättningsrättsliga principer i huvudsak skulle vara preskriberade till följd av den långa tidsperiod som förflutit sedan händelserna hade ägt rum varför möjligheterna för den enskilde att erhålla ersättning enligt skadeståndslagen skulle vara små. Upprättelseutredningens förslag kom sedermera att resultera i införandet av lagen (2012:663) om ersättning på grund av övergrepp eller försummelser i samhällsvården av barn och unga i vissa fall. Denna nya ersättningslagstiftning trädde i kraft den 1 januari 2013 och ger den som varit omhändertagen för samhällsvård under perioden 1920-1980 rätt till ersättning om 250 000 kronor om det kan antas att han eller hon har utsatts för sådana övergrepp eller försummelser som är av allvarlig art i samband med vården. Med hänsyn till risken för bevissvårigheter till följd av den många gånger långa tidsperiod som har förflutit sedan vanvården ägde rum uppställer den nya ersättningslagen inte samma krav på bevisning i jämförelse med den allmänna skadeståndsrätten. Detta resulterar emellertid i skillnader vid bevisprövningen beroende på om den enskilde omfattas av den nya ersättningslagen eller om denne faller utanför lagens tillämpningsområde. Trots de lättnader, som således föreligger i bevishänseende, leder dock utformningen av de rekvisit som i övrigt ska vara uppfyllda till att nära hälften av alla inkomna ansökningar om ersättning får avslag. En anledning till att en så stor andel av ansökningarna leder till avslag är bland annat att den rådande samhällssynen på barnuppfostran under olika tidsperioder får betydelse för bedömningen av vad som ska anses utgöra vanvård av sådan allvarlig art som lagen kräver. Detta leder till att samma händelse kan bli föremål för olika bedömningar beroende på när i tiden denna ägde rum. Vidare tar inte lagen sikte på alla de fall av privata placeringar som länge var vanligt förekommande under 1900-talet. Slutligen omfattas inte heller sådana händelser som inte kan antas ha ett nära samband med vården av barnet eller som ägt rum senare än år 1980. Sammantaget måste införandet av den nya ersättningslagen anses fylla en viktig funktion som ett erkännande och en ursäkt för de övergrepp och försummelser som så många barn utsattes för inom ramen för den sociala barnavården. Den problematik som kan föreligga rörande bevisprövning och lagens snävt utformade rekvisit medför dock att relevant lika fall de facto inte behandlas lika ifråga om de faktiska möjligheterna att erhålla ersättning. Denna omständighet kan ifrågasättas ur ett rättssäkerhetsperspektiv och kommer att undersökas närmare inom ramen för denna framställning.In 2010, a commission, appointed by the Swedish government, found that serious neglect and abuse had been occurring within the public childcare system during the 20th century. As a result of these findings, a second commission was mandated to inquire the possibilities for restitution for all children who had experienced neglect or abuse between 1920 and 1980. The commission suggested that an economic compensation provided by the government would play an important part in the restitution process, as well as provide a public acknowledgement of the abuse that had occurred within the system. It also stated that any other claims for compensation according to the Swedish law on damages would essentially be statue-barred due to the long period of time that had passed since the occurring of these events. The suggested economic compensation subsequently resulted in a new law coming in to force on 1 January 2013. This new law gives anyone who has been fostered and cared for within the public childcare system during 1920-1980, a right to an economic compensation of 250 000 SEK if it can be assumed that he or she had been subjected to abuse of a serious nature in connection with the care provided. Due to the long period of time that has passed since the stated timeframe for compensation, the issue of presenting evidence proving the occurrence of abuse of a serious nature can prove difficult. Therefore, the new law does not require as much evidence in order to grant compensation as what is otherwise the norm according to the general law on damages. However, this has resulted in differences in the sifting of evidence depending on if the individual is covered by the new legislation or falls outside its scope. In order to be granted compensation, the new law also stipulates a number of necessary conditions that have to be fulfilled in order for the individual to be granted compensation. Despite the alleviation regarding evidence, nearly half of all the applications for compensation are rejected due to the way these conditions have been formulated. Amongst other things, the varied public perception on children’s upbringing during different time periods has come to play an important part in the assessment of what should be viewed as such abuse that will entitle the individual to compensation. Depending on when the abuse took place, this will result in different assessments of the same event. Moreover, the new law does not cover private placements, something that was very common during the 20th century. Finally, the new law does not cover such events that are not viewed as having a connection with the public care provided for the child, nor does it cover such events that have taken place past 1980. On the one hand, taking all these issues into consideration, the enacting of the new law must be considered important as a public apology and an acknowledgement by the state of the neglect and abuse that so many children were subjected to within the public childcare system during a large part of the 20th century. On the other hand, the new law can be considered problematic with regard to the sifting of evidence and the way in which the necessary conditions have been formulated. Cases, which can be viewed as identical, will therefore not be treated in the same way in regards to the actual possibility for the individual to acquire compensation. This can be questioned from a broader perspective based on the rule of law

"Att finnas till i ur och skur" : En studie om familjehemssekreterares upplevelser och föreställningar om avbrott i familjehemsplaceringar

The aim of this study was to examine family home social workers experience and conception of unplanned as well as planned disruptions in family foster care. We also wanted to investigate the main reasons of disruption identified by family home social workers, and how they are managed. Another aim was to investigate how family home social workers work with children, biological parents and foster parents post-disruption. Data was conducted during seven semi-structured interviews with family home social workers from five municipalities in the south of Sweden. In this study we used Social constructivism as a perspective to understand the collected data, and the analysis is based on the concept of institutional logics from the New Institutional Theory and Attribution theories. The Attribution theories describe the cause of an event or behavior to help people understand the world. Overall we could determine that unplanned disruption and relocation is a failure for all parties involved in a foster care placement. In conclusion we found that matching is a crucial aspect in preventing disruptions, and that poor matching are causing disruptions. Furthermore, adequate and sustained communication between children, foster parents and social services plays a key role in preventing as well as managing disruptions

Barnets socialsekreterare-vad betyder den nya lagstiftningen i praktiken?

Author: Ylva Tornestrand Title: The child’s social worker, what does it mean in practise? Supervisor: Bodil Rasmusson Assessor: Norma Montesino The aim of this essay is to examine how the new legislation is applied in practice when it comes to children placed in foster homes should have their own social worker. This has been done through the perspective of the child’s social worker. The study is qualitative and based on the interviews with five social workers, who are social workers to children placed in foster homes. The soci al workers do follow up of the placement of the children. All interviewees found the amendment positive as they describe that this leads to a more defined responsibility, the children are prioritized and thus an improvement for children placed in foster ho mes. The social workers’ opinion was that by having your own social worker it gives the children better security, but actually it is all about having a good relation and continuity in contact with the children. At the same time they described difficulties in their role. These difficulties were about maintaining a comprehensive view and cooperation between the adults who were jointly responsible for the children. Several of the social workers also experienced an increased workload due to this organizational change

De borde omhändertagit mig första gången : Kvalitativa intervjuer med barn som placerats utom hemmet

Examensarbetet inleds med en förankring i barnskyddslagen och barnets rättigheter. Examensarbetet är en utvärdering av tio barns subjektiva upplevelse före, efter och under den tid de var placerade, vilka är mina frågeställningar. Undersökningen är en utvärdering med halvstrukturerade intervjuer med skattningsskalan Outcome Rating Scale som grund. Barnen fick vid intervjutillfället med egna ord berätta hur de upplevt placeringen. Undersökningen visade att beslutet att placera dem var en nödvändig åtgärd. Barnen hade reflekterat över sina liv samt hur de upplevde placeringarna i fosterhem, släktinghem och i institutionsmiljöer. Jag har i undersökningen informerat om barnskyddslagen och barnens rättigheter. Examensarbetet belyser också barns styrka eller utsatthet, resiliens och risk med placeringar. Vilken risk utsätts barnen vid placeringar och vilken risk upplever barn om de inte blir placerade. Resiliens innebär att bemästra för barnen svårupplevda livssituationer. Omhändertagandet av barn väcker opinion bland allmänheten. Frågorna ställs emot varandra, är det bra med en placering eller är det skadligt för barnen?The degree thesis opens with declaring the enactment of child welfare in relation to the act of child’s rights. The degree thesis is an evaluation of ten children’s subjective experience before, during and after the re-placement. My frame of questions concentrates around this specific experience. This analyze is an evaluation based on semi-structured interviews where the Outcome Rating Scale- method has been used as a base. The degree thesis also illuminates resilience and the risks of re-placements, both risks in re-placements itself as well as the risks the child experiences if it does not get re-placed. Resilience implies knowledge of mastering a situation that a child experience as severe perceived. During the interview the children expressed, in their own words, how they experienced the re-placement. The children reflected over their lives as well as how they experienced the re-placement with relatives, foster care as well as different institutions. The survey shows that the decision to re-place the children in question was a required arrangement. The topic of child re-placement awakens different opinions among people. The public argues opinions to solve the question: is it a good resolution to re-place a child or will the child get harmed

Det uppmärksammade barnomhändertagandet : En kvalitativ innehållsanalys av hur svenska medier framställer omhändertagande av barn

The purpose of this study was to examine how newspapers construct the image of childcare in Sweden. To be more specific the aim was to explore and understand how media describes the work that social services are doing when they investigate the need of childcare or decide to emancipate a child from their parents. The questions this study wanted to answer is which perspective media most commonly choose to emphasize and if there were certain participants that was rendered as victims or perpetrators. To answer those questions this study used a qualitative content analysis applied on articles in six different Swedish newspapers. The theories applied on this study was social constructionism, priming and media logic. We found that Swedish newspaper, while discussing child protective services, more frequent described social services in a negative way. The material this study analyzed showed that children usually was pictured as victims while social services more commonly was the perpetrator. An interesting result was that even in articles where children was displayed as perpetrators, social services still was presented as ineffective. The conclusion of this study was that social services need a better way to communicate with the media to create a nuanced picture of child protection in Sweden

Föräldrars deltagande vid institutionsvård av unga - ur ett professionellt perspektiv

This essay is based on a qualitative study about parents’ involvement in children’s treatment in residential care. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with professionals working at institutions for youth between the age 13-20 and litterature related to the chosen subject. The purpose of this essay is to examine how the professionals reason about parents’ involvement in residential youth care and which impact it may have on the care of the youth, both positive and negative. By using system theory we have been able to get an overall perspective of the family and how the residential placement can effect their lives. The results of the interviews indicate that the professionals had a simular comprehension about parents’ involvement and considered it to be an important part in the care of the youth. However, there were some differences in the approach when working with the families. Some residentials used established methods in family treatment with therapeutic intentions, while most of the residentials used the every-day-contact to influence the parent-child relationship. Among other reasons, the overall perception was that the parents are the most important people in a child’s life because no one can be able to replace them. We found that in cases of oppression in the name of honour or sexual abuse the professionals chose not to involve the parents because of the fact that the contact could create more damage than actually help the youth. The professionals argued that a good collaboration with the parents depended on the parents’ attitude towards the treatment. To create a working relationship between professionals and parents and between professionals and youth, respect and honesty were important, equally so flexibility in formation of the treatment