Social worker motivations and organisational prerequisites for care of children who commit crimes – the best interests of the child or the protection of society?

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Swedish juvenile justice system’s placing of children aged 15–17 under one roof in Secure Youth Care institutions presents a dilemma for social work officers attempting to resolve delinquency cases in the best interests of the child. Retrospective interviews were conducted in 2015 and mainly in Stockholm County with six professional social services officers (SSOs). The data were processed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), social science theory, relevant law, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and material from the National Board of Health and Welfare. Main results show that SSOs were concerned about the risk of faulty assessments, the inadequacy of methods and insufficient attention being paid to relevant scientific knowledge. All in all, the task of protecting the child vis-à-vis protecting society becomes a major challenge in an institution where there is no clear line of demarcation between punishment and care and rehabilitation efforts. Sweden’s ambition to incorporate the CRC into Swedish law requires more focused education of personnel and national guidelines concerning the best interests of the child, as well as the allocation of more adequate resources to allow for more time with each client.