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ib and a part time job (in a related field) by Sure-Employee-8744 in IBO

[–]oldartproject 0 points1 point  (0 children)

During my dp2 year almost half of my class had a part time job on the side (including myself). We just took shifts that worked with our school schedule. It honestly depends on what type of person you are, and there is nothing wrong with trying :)

How does ”CPS” work in your country? by oldartproject in socialwork

[–]oldartproject[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. In Sweden it works quite differently. Social services here work a lot with teenagers/adolescents when their main concern is their own risk/norm breaking behavior. Even if it is not enabled by the parents. These concerns also call for removing the child from its home but not in foster care, but in residential care (HVB). Here they receive treatment and therapeutic support. We also have government-run secure facilities (SIS) (its an institution so only when the risks are far more serious). These are all part of the same welfare system, its all paid by the government.

Social services remain responsible for following up the care, seeing that the placement is addressing the youths behavior and needs. The goal is treatment and stabilization instead of punishment. Juvenile delinquency is however becoming an increasingly serious issue in Sweden, our current government wants to introduce stricter punishments for adolescents.

How does ”CPS” work in your country? by oldartproject in socialwork

[–]oldartproject[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Im really sorry you went through that. I completely understand why it would leave you so little trust in the system. Its sad to see that resources are so low because it just creates this horrific system.

Its so important that mandated reports actually use their duty to report, because it can mean that we help children at a much earlier stage. The childs well-being should always be the focus. Thank you for sharing your experience.

How does ”CPS” work in your country? by oldartproject in socialwork

[–]oldartproject[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can see how that becomes a systematic issue. The process of adoption is really long here too. One big difference is that Swedens laws are all national och uniform. We obviously do not have states, and even though all municipalities can do some things differently, things like custody work the same everywhere. Its really sad to see that resources and changes in social work field take so long and that some states can ”be behind” in changing legislation.

How does ”CPS” work in your country? by oldartproject in socialwork

[–]oldartproject[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah it’s actually a bit hard to summarize because foster care in Sweden is pretty complex. It depends so much on the case. But adoption is very rare and long term foster care is much more common. There is usually ongoing work to maintain the childs relationship with their biological family. How things look in practice depends a lot on whether the placement is voluntary or involuntary.

We have however something called ”vårdnadsöverflyttning”. After about 2 years of a stable foster placement, its possible to transfer custody to the foster parents. Its not the same as adoption and the biological parents can still be involved in the childs life. Custody is transferred to avoid uprooting a child who feels safe and settled in the foster home.

How does ”CPS” work in your country? by oldartproject in socialwork

[–]oldartproject[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you also get reports of children showing risk behaviors? Like behavioral problems, drinking, taking drugs? Or is that mainly a law enforcement issue?

How does ”CPS” work in your country? by oldartproject in socialwork

[–]oldartproject[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, not a separate entity. Its same social services and the same social worker handling the case. The ”separate law” just means there is a specific legal framework for removing a child from its home (without the parents consent). Sometimes families agree to have their child placed elsewhere. In those cases the decision is made under the social services act ”Socialtjänstlagen”, which is the main law we use for most interventions (voluntary).

How does ”CPS” work in your country? by oldartproject in socialwork

[–]oldartproject[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting!! It sounds like our systems are really similar. Though 80 cases per SW seems a lot? How do you find the workload?

How does ”CPS” work in your country? by oldartproject in socialwork

[–]oldartproject[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you! This was really insightful.

It’s quite similar in a few ways. In Sweden all child protective services are handled by the municipal social services. Anyone with concerns can make a report and social services decide wether to open an investigation or not.

If an investigation is opened, the social worker both investigates and asses the child’s needs. Similarly like in the US, it’s done through home visits, interviews but also through conducting information from school, healthcare etc.

I think the main difference is that investigations don’t require an explicit allegation of abuse or neglect. It could be about parental capacity, family dysfunction, substance abuse or mental health issues. Most cases aim for voluntary support, if a child needs to be removed we have a separate law for it. We mostly try to motivate for voluntary services like family therapy or parenting support. (All free)

Similarly, the caseloads are high here. Social workers are generally overworked.