1. A Comparison of Out-of-home Care for Children and Young People in Australia and Sweden: Worlds Apart?
- Author
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Healy, Karen, Lundström, Tommy, and Sallnäs, Marie
- Subjects
AFFECTIVE disorders ,AGE distribution ,BEHAVIOR disorders in children ,CHILD abuse ,CHILD welfare ,COMPARATIVE studies ,FAMILIES ,FOSTER home care ,GUARDIAN & ward ,HOMELESSNESS ,HOUSING ,INDIGENOUS peoples ,JUVENILE offenders ,GOVERNMENT policy ,RESIDENTIAL care ,CROSS-sectional method - Abstract
In this paper we present a comparative analysis of out-of-home care in Australia and Sweden. We compare the age structure of the out-of-home care population and the types of out-of-home care services provided to children and young people in both countries. Our analysis reveals that in Australia the out-of-home care service system is focused mainly on children who are deemed to be abused or neglected within their families, while in Sweden the majority of the out-of-home care population are teenagers who cannot live with their families for emotional or behavioural reasons. These population differences intersect with variations in the forms of service provision in both countries, with a much greater reliance on home-based care in Australia than in Sweden, while there is more extensive use of residential care in Sweden. We envisage that this paper will demonstrate how the age structure of the out-of-home care population, though rarely considered in international comparative child welfare research, reveals much about the assumptions on which State intervention with children and young people is based. We intend that this analysis will assist social workers to better understand and address the gaps in the quality and comprehensiveness of out-of-home care service provision to children and young people in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2011
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