Interventions in child welfare: A Swedish inventory

Abstract

In Swedish child welfare, there are no mandatory guidelines on what interventions to use. Local authorities are able to set their own criteria for implementing or designing interventions. We carried out a survey to identify interventions in use in Children's Social Services and Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Care in Sweden. A total of 102 interventions were stated to have been in use, with between 31 and 45 different interventions for each of the four different child welfare populations. Of the 102 interventions, 56 were designed outside Sweden and later imported. Only 27 interventions were supported with some kind of research evidence. About half of the interventions targeted the child. Possible implications for practice and research are discussed.