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What difference do different settings in residential care make for young people? A comparison of family‐style homes and institutions in Sweden
Author(s) -
Johansson Jan,
Andersson Bengt,
Hwang C. Philip
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2397.2007.00498.x
Subject(s) - residential care , public sector , style (visual arts) , public institution , balance (ability) , business , economic growth , demographic economics , psychology , gerontology , political science , economics , medicine , geography , economy , archaeology , neuroscience , law
Residential care in Sweden has undergone great change in recent decades. With new small family‐style institutions, the boundaries between residential care and foster care have been blurred. Almost all residential care used to be run by the public sector. Today about 80 per cent is privately run. This study compares three different settings in residential care: institutions run by the public sector, privately run institutions and family‐style homes. Among other things, it is found that the institutions run by the public sector have better educated staff and a higher staff–resident ratio than privately run institutions. Despite this, they are more restrictive in their intake and they have youths with fewer problems, especially delinquency and other antisocial behaviour. The results are discussed in relation to developments in the residential care sector in Sweden and in relation to the balance between care and treatment.