In Eftermiddag on P4 Stockholm, Ronja Helénsdotter talks about serious shortcomings in child protective custody and how many deaths could have been prevented.
In an interview on Eftermiddag on P4 Stockholm, Ronja Helénsdotter, affiliated researcher at the Department of Economics and Statistics, discusses serious quality deficiencies in the forced placement of children and youths in SiS institutions, HVB homes (residential care homes), and foster care.
"Deaths of children in care could have been avoided if they had not been taken into care," says Ronja, outlining her review of child deaths over the past 20 years.
"It is incredibly sad"
Ronja explains that her research shows most children who take their own lives do so within nine months of being placed-and all of them during the time they are in care.
"This says a lot about the environment they are placed in. It is shocking that it is even possible. There is so much supervision, yet I was very surprised that so many die while in placement," she says.
She emphasizes that the first months are a critical period, during which supervision must be increased and warning signs taken very seriously.
"In many cases, there are clear signs that the child may attempt suicide. You really have to act on that, for example by not leaving the child alone when they express suicidal thoughts and ensuring the child receives psychiatric care."
Custody instead of care
Ronja has identified major shortcomings in the care of children in forced placements, including lack of psychiatric treatment, incorrect medication, and failure to act on acute suicidal intentions.
"Collaboration between social services and healthcare must be much stronger. At the moment, SiS is more like custody rather than care," she says.
She also points out that it is difficult to establish stable contact with healthcare since many children are moved between regions and different placements.
How the children could have been saved
Ronja emphasizes that the problems are not limited to SiS institutions but also occur in foster care and HVB homes, where children and youths often negatively influence each other and expose each other to crime and bullying.
"It is important to reduce the negative impact children have on each other and to ensure a safe and stable environment."
The conclusion of Ronja's study is clear: many of the deaths she has studied could have been prevented if the children had received support in their own homes. Her research shows that, on average, the future of these children would have been brighter with the right interventions at home.
Listen to Ronja Helénsdotter in Eftermiddag i P4 Stockholm (in Swedish)
