I want to understand! - Participation-promoting information and image support material for LSS investigations with children

For several years it has been emphasized that the children´s perspective should be strengthened in disability legislation.

When it comes to promoting the voices of children and young people during the investigation process according to the LSS act, the LSS administrator has a central role in adapting the working methods based on the individual young person´s resources and limitations.

In connection with the Convention on the Rights of the Child becoming law in Sweden in 2020, preparatory work has been underway in municipalities with the aim of increasing the opportunity for children to be heard. However, recent studies show that children with disabilities are lacking participation in the investigation process.

It has been shown that administrators involved in social service display a reliance on parents’ descriptions of the children’s needs, which indicates a lack of knowledge and tools for direct communication with children who have limited resources to communicate verbally.An ongoing project examines, from the perspective of professionals, children and parents, how increased participation can be made possible for children during a LSS investigation.

Preliminary results from the ongoing study, and results from the pilot project that preceded the study, show that a cornerstone is that children need clear information and understanding of what happens before, during and after the investigation process.

There is therefore a tangible need for both child-friendly information material and image support material that LSS administrators can use in contact and investigative interviews with children. Here, a flexible material is needed that can be adapted based on municipal conditions and in a long-term perspective.

It would thus constitute significant added value if the project - in addition to traditional forms of reporting - could also result in concrete and communication-supporting material with associated instructions.

The beneficial contribution would subsequently consist of the child becoming safer and gains a better understanding before an LSS investigation and, furthermore, LSS administrators to become more confident in their professional role in terms of enabling children´s participation in the investigative interview.

In addition, the administrators would in this way be given conditions to better respond to the legislative intentions found in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.